Max Goes to Jupiter: A Science Adventure with Max the Dog

by Jeffrey Bennett, Nick Schneider, Erica Ellingson, Michael Carroll (Illustrator)

Overview

Scientifically-accurate illustrations and information-packed sidebars enrich this fascinating tale, the third in this acclaimed series about diversity and space exploration. Set in the future, Max the Dog’s friend Tori is all grown up and is the chief scientist of the Jupiter Mission. In order to reach their spacecraft, Max and his crew must take an amazing ride on a new device called the Space Elevator. Once they’ve probed the planet’s atmosphere, Max and friends begin exploring two of Jupiter’s moons—the volcanically active moon Io and the ice-encrusted moon Europa. On Europa, Max once again saves the day by locating a weak spot in the ice to launch a submarine and explore the ocean below.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780972181938
Publisher:	Big Kid Science
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Series:	Science Adventures with Max the Dog Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NC1150L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Jeffrey Bennett is the author of Max Goes to Mars and Max Goes to the Moon. He is an astrophysicist and educator who proposed the idea for and helped develop the Voyage Scale Model Solar System—the first science-oriented exhibit approved for permanent installation on the National Mall in Washington, DC. He is the lead author of bestselling college textbooks in four distinct disciplines: astronomy, mathematics, statistics, and astrobiology. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. Nick Schneider is the coauthor of The Cosmic Perspective and a leading expert on Jupiter and its moons. Erica Ellingson is an extragalactic astronomy and cosmology specialist. They are all science professors at the University of Colorado and live in Lyons, Colorado. Michael Carroll is a renowned space artist. His work has been featured at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Air and Space Museum; in National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, and Time; and on NOVA. He lives in Littleton, Colorado.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Max Goes to Jupiter is the Young Voices Foundation 2009 Gold Winner for Children's Picture Book (all ages)

"The scientific and technological details are realistic."  —School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

Max Goes to Jupiter is the Young Voices Foundation 2009 Gold Winner for Children's Picture Book (all ages)

"The scientific and technological details are realistic."  —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Max is back and on his way to Jupiter. After completing his training, Max is fired up for another trip into space and off he goes to Jupiter while his friends remain on earth. Tori, now the mission's chief scientist, and his other friends discuss the trip. Discussions include many historical and scientific facts about the planet. The story is told across the top of the page, making it easy for readers to follow, while sidebars provide information about astronomers, space, and Jupiter itself. This is not a picture book for the youngest reader to read alone, but with a bit of help the information in the sidebars should become clear. At times that information makes for more interesting reading than the story itself, but young readers probably will not be put off by that fact. Illustrations are a mixture of seemingly actual photographs of the planet and drawings of the characters in the story, with cut-outs of Max the dog in a spacesuit. The text is somewhat preachy. The front blurb calls this an "educationally designed" book appealing to all ages. That remains to be seen. This book does not have CIP, but the other Max book in our school library is in the science sections with the other space books, 523. Reviewer: Leslie Greaves Radloff

Children's Literature - Leslie Greaves Radloff

Gr 3-4

A small human crew and a rambunctious rottweiler ride out to the Jovian system to drop off a pair of probes and to step onto the surfaces of the moons Io and Europa. Teaching values as well as astronomy, the authors intersperse discussions of the discovery and nature of Jupiter and its satellites with remarks about selfish people, international cooperation, and the necessity of caring for our own planet. The scientific and technological details are realistic, but the plot is so slight and the characters so sketchy that, like the dog bounding around various painted extraterrestrial locales in his jointed metal vacuum suit, they're more of a distraction than an enhancement. Consider this outing only after choosing among the plethora of conventional informational treatments of our solar system's second-largest member, such as Adele Richardson's Jupiter (Capstone) or Elaine Landau's Jupiter (Children's Press, both 2007).-John Peters, New York Public Library

School Library Journal