Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teens tackle climate science in fun, fast-paced adventure.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In MAX EINSTEIN: WORLD CHAMPIONS, the young geniuses of the Change Makers Institute (CMI) are back trying to help improve the world, this time by tackling climate change. They've stopped trying to stay anonymous: Max is addressing the United Nations, Ben has hired a social media guru, and the kids of CMI have become huge targets for the evil forces trying to prop up the fossil fuel industry. But things get tricky when Ben's enormous fortune mysteriously disappears, because even though CMI has to disband, the kids are still driven to solve both the mystery of the shadowy operative trying to destroy them and to making lasting changes to turn around the climate crisis.
Is It Any Good?
There are plenty of action-packed chases, mysterious figures lurking in the shadows, fun and fantastic science, and earnest kids in this fast, fun read. It falls a little flat in places, the CMI work with the ships in Australia seems like a stretch, and a few of the plot points never really make sense. But authors James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein know how to write a page-turner, and Max Einstein World Champions is another hit. The way Max and her friends explain science make it accessible; physics is a lot more interesting when you're using it to save your life. The idea of time travel seems like a diversion, and it pulls away from reality in a way that seems out of place with the rest of a book rooted in real issues. But the teen activism is powerful, and the way the kids use their talents to work hard and solve complex problems is inspiring.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the group responds to Klaus not believing in climate change in Max Einstein World Champions. How do you react when a friend refuses to see a point you know is logical and fact-based? Do you try to talk or do you avoid the topic?
What do you think we can do to reduce climate change? What is something small people could do in their own communities to help reverse the current climate path?
What do you think of the idea of time travel?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Activism , STEM , Adventures
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : JIMMY Patterson Books
- Publication date : August 9, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 14
- Number of pages : 304
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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