The Basics of Cell Life with Max Axiom, Super Scientist

by Amber J. Keyser, Cynthia Martin (Illustrator)

Overview

Follow Max Axiom on an amazing adventure through plant and animal CELLS! In this action-packed graphic novel, the one-and-only Super Scientist discovers the earliest cells on Earth, shrinks to the size of a cell, and swims among molecules. Through comic-book style art, Max Axiom transforms science topics, like biology, into superpowered adventures — a compelling mixture for young scientists and comic book fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781429639040
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Series:	Graphic Science Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

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.

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.

Table of Contents

Building blocks of life — Cell metabolism — Cell division — Many cells, many jobs.

Editorial Reviews

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

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/

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