Title: Adventurous Max Flax
Author: Kathleen Curtis Wilson
Publisher: Brilliant Books Literary
ISBN: 979-8-88945-444-1
Pages: 36
Genre: Educational Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Hollywood Book Reviews
What first caught my eye was the exquisite illustrations by Geoff Fulton in the book Adventurous Max Flax by author Kathleen Curtis Wilson. With a whimsical personified flax plant portrayed as Max, a combination of host and mime-narrator, readers are taken on a journey from the fields where flax is grown to the final products made with Irish linen.
The story shows the cleverness and tooling of the early linen industry, bringing in new vocabulary to the readers and expanding the detailed techniques on how linen is made. All too often children may take for granted the simplest of items, such as clothing, not realizing the culmination of the various products which go into making a garment. Max Flax tells of each step along the way of making linen, which is known for its cooling qualities, retention of shape and size as compared with cotton and wool, minimizing stretching and shrinkage. The illustrations of Max show a smiling, skinny, elf-like character, with a resemblance to a scarecrow.
At the end of the story is a section called ‘Additional Information’ where the author provides a glossary of terms, such as retting, and flax brake, along with photographs of the wooden tools used for the various processes.
By the completion of the book, youngsters (and some adults) will learn many lessons about the marvelous flax; its history, uses, and benefits. The information contained is told in a polished narration of words combined with images – illustrations and photographs – which totally imprint into developing minds the processes used to make linen, demystifying the creation of such a staple product of human society.
Adventurous Max Flax is a book which should be a part of every school library catering to the K-through-6 grades, and a special book for any Irish cultural school to show-off their wonderful contribution to humanity – long before polyester was even a concept.