Amber J. Keyser is a former ballerina and evolutionary biologist who writes both fiction and nonfiction for tweens and teens. Her young adult novels include Pointe, Claw and The Way Back From Broken. Her nonfiction titles include Sneaker Century: A History Of Athletic Shoes, Decoding Genes with Max Axiom Super Scientist, and many other titles. Amber lives in Oregon with her husband, two kids, four chickens, and a dog who looks like a Muppet.
A few months ago, Snow and I discovered that we were each planning
to review different titles in the Max Esther: I should start by
saying I don't use the science part of my brain very well. I was
always okay with math. I excelled at literature, Language Arts, and
History, but science - while interesting - was always more of a
struggle for me. When my students come to the library to work on a
science project and need my help, I'm always quick to point out
that I'm there to help them find the information not explain it,
because they really really don't want me to explain science to
them! So I was really interested in seeing this series. I wanted to
know if it could really help the scientifically challenged like me!
And the answer... drum roll please... yes, it really does.
Obviously, the ideas presented in this titles are topics that I've
learned and possibly even mastered while I was in school. But I was
in school a very long time ago. I see myself including these titles
into my collection, and having students use the books to help them
with ideas they're struggling with in class or I can see them using
it to help them understand a topic for a project. The Max Axiom
series is part of the Graphic Library collection from Capstone
Press. They and other publishers that gear to the school market
have created a number of similar type series with very similar
product... I've always had issue with these series. For one, as a
colleague once noted - they don't excel in art and they don't excel
in story. I have to agree with this assessment and while there has
been improvement in that area, I think the key factor that's
missing here is heart. Take a nonfiction GN like the The United
States Constitution: a Graphic Adaptation - the creators put their
soul into the project (or at least part of their soul). I've seen
great nonfiction GNs, but they're usually stand alone titles, like
Amelia Earhart, or Satchell Paige (which is probably more of a
historical fiction title.) These books feel like someone invested
themselves in the project. I never got a sense of that from any of
the 4 volumes of Max Axiom. Another issue I had with Max Axiom was
that of late, as a reader and reviewer, I've been trying to
concentrate more on how the art and text work together in a comic.
I think it was something that was said at the GC4K panel at ALA
that made tune into this more. I'm much more of a textual based
person, and the art has always been secondary to me. Yet, in
reality, this doesn't work with comics. In a solid comic, the art
moves the text along. I never got that sense when reading Max
Axiom. Rather, the series was just capitalizing on a popular format
to entice kids to read and they could have used the standard
illustrated book format. I still contend, they really do explain
the science well in an accessible manner, but it's not the pictures
that do most of the explaining it's the text. There isn't a balance
between the art and text. Snow: I see what you mean about text and
art not working well together. That's something I try to look for,
but there are times when it bothers me more than others. For some
reason, Max Axiom is not one of the series that gets to me. I know
that they're just using the graphic novel format, but I've seen
worse cases of cashing in (for example, the hideous adaptations of
the Box Car Children books). For me there were enough moments in
Max Axiom where the creators were obviously trying to keep from
simply having static panels with text boxes above them. In The
Surprising World of Bacteria there is a panel with a picture of a
glacier. Rather than just showing an ice sheet, the ice is falling
off, adding motion to the scene. A Crash Course in Forces and
Motion tries hard to make sure that the physics principles are
illustrated, not just mentioned. How do your students like the
series? Do they find them useful? Do they think they are
interesting to read? Does it feel to them like they are being
pandered to by havi-- "Good Comics for Kids Blog - School Library
Journal"
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"
STAR REVIEW! Decoding Genes with Max Axiom, Super Scientist is a
fun way for kids to learn about genetics in a comic-bookstyle
story. The book accurately covers Mendel and his peas, heredity,
the structure of genes, DNA mutations, genetic variation, and some
of the diverse areas in which genetics is being used today. Having
a "Super Scientist" with super powers, such as being able to shrink
to the size of an atom and travel through space and time with the
use of a special lab coat, as your tour guide makes this a creative
and enjoyable way to learn the basics of genetics. The color
illustrations allow the reader to visualize what genes are and how
they work. The book lacks a real story line, so reading "more about
Max Axiom" at the end of the book first might enable the reader to
get the background story of the narrator. The information presented
should help kids get excited about the "cool" things this Super
Scientist is going to show them. In the classroom or at home, this
book will be an excellent source for kids who are curious about
science and genetics.-- "Science Books and Films"
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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