Table of contents, glossary, index.
Andrea is a science communicator specializing in astronomy, geology, Earth and planetary science, climate science, ecology, and the environment. She has authored or co-authored books and articles for a wide variety of national and international publishers and organizations including: National Geographic, Scientific American, New Scientist, NASA, Space Telescope Science Institute, Capstone Press, and others. She is a former associate editor of Astronomy magazine and was editor-in-chief of Astronomy.com. Andrea also develops multimedia educational tools and programs for museums. Cynthia Martin has worked in comics and animation since 1983. Her credits include Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, in addition to work as a storyboard artist for Sony Children's Entertainment and the Krislin Company. Cynthia's recent projects include an extensive series of graphic novels for Capstone Press and two issues of Blue Beetle for DC Comics. She also illustrated the book Alley of Shadows, published by Stone Arch Books.
I'm in love - or, better yet, my son is in love! We've had the
opportunity to review graphic science books on all sorts of topics
that are fun and easy to read. Comic book style science sounds
really fluffy doesn't it? Believe it or not, the Max Axiom series
is full of "real" science that goes deep enough to be appropriate
for any upper elementary/early middle school child. My son is a
less-than-zealous textbook reader. (Picture eyes glazing over and
giant yawns.) After reading - or being read to - from a textbook,
he recalls very little of the information. Over the years, I've
turned science into hands-on unit studies and supplemented with
lots of library books, which has worked quite well. During one of
these unit study times, I came across Max Axiom and wanted to know
more. I found that Capstone Press offers many, many Max Axiom
books, and boy were my son and I excited! Twenty-four books total
cover the areas of biology/botany, chemistry, physical and earth
science. In each book, Max Axiom (a scientist with super powers),
goes on an adventure to learn all about the topic at hand. He can
shrink to the size of bacteria and whiz through the human body, or
go back in time to learn more about a famous scientist of the past.
All of this in a 32 page comic book! (When I say comic book, don't
think of flimsy pages, these are "real" books.) http:
//thecurriculumchoice.com/2011/07/max-axiom-graphic-science-books/--
"Curriculum Choice blog"
Max Axiom is a super teacher in the tradition of Miss Frizzle and
the Magic Schoolbus. To teach students about magnets, Max travels
back in time to the 900 B.C. Greek region of Magnesia where the
discovery of magnetism was first documented. He shrinks into an
atom to demonstrate the spinning force of electrons and blasts deep
into space to illustrate the Earth's magnetic poles and the forces
that cause the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) and the Aurora
Australis (southern lights). He then returns safely back to his
present-day lab for some fun science experiments that can be
replicated at home or in the classroom. Written in an accurate and
engaging graphic novel format with inserted panels defining key
terms, this book would be an exciting asset to any home or
classroom library. This book is complete with additional facts
about magnetism, a glossary and index, and a fact-file of Max
Axiom's super capabilities and basic statistics. Suggested safe
internet sites accompany the text.-- "Children's Literature
Comprehensive Database"
Max Axiom(TM) Super Scientist Maxwell J. Axiom is no ordinary
superhero. He is no other than the super scientist! If you had any
doubt about science being super, he's here to quench that doubt.
Born to a marine biologist mother and nuclear physicist/park ranger
father in Seattle, USA, he's got black skin, brown eyes and no
hair. He is the scientific version of Shaft, swift, dynamic, cool.
His super-powers come from a lightning that struck him one day on a
wilderness hike: it gave him a newfound energy and motivated him to
travel the globe and earn degrees in every aspect of science.
Equipped with this enormous knowledge that he was ready to share,
he assumed a new identity: Max Axiom, Super Scientist. His
superpowers include super-intelligence, ability to shrink to a size
of an atom, time travel and X-ray vision. So apart from breaking a
few laws of physics in the start there, he does make up for it by
using all of his powers to explain the science to the readers.
Magnetism This is the famous episode where Max "shrinks to the size
of an atom" in order to explain just how magnetism works at an
atomic level. He also visits ancient Greece where the word magnet
was first coined, it was named after a region called Magnesia which
was littered with a naturally magnetic rock "magnesian stone".
Another story says magnets were first discovered by a Greek
shepherd Magnes whose sandals (built with iron nails) were
attracted to magnesian stones. Not even Max can tell us if this
story is true, but he sure makes sure we understand how and why
magnets work in this fascinating comic.-- "Felix, Imperial College
London student newspaper"
There are lots of engaging resources available for teaching science
to young kids, but one of the best is strangely little known: a
terrific and highly entertaining series of science-themed graphic
novels from Capstone Press, featuring a super scientist by the name
of Max Axiom. Max Axiom, the story goes, was hiking one day when he
was struck by megacharged lightning. The accident gave him the
ability to shrink to the size of the atom, while his magic lab coat
enables him to travel through space and time. These super powers
mean that when he is, for instance, investigating viruses, he can
stand on a human knee and watch as a scrape becomes infected. He
can travel down inside a plant to show the role of chloroplasts in
photosynthesis. Each book in the series features an adventure
focused on one science theme, such as Cell Life, Chemical
Reactions, or Electricity. Information is presented clearly and
engagingly, and each book also features a glossary, suggestions for
further reading, and pre-screened internet links. There are more
than 15 books in the series altogether. Unfortunately, the Brooklyn
Public Library and New York Public Library each only carry one of
these well-designed books, but you can purchase four for the price
of three on Amazon. http:
//www.examiner.com/homeschooling-in-new-york/max-axiom-graphic-novels-make-learning-science-fun--
"Examiner.com"
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