Maximum Boy facts for kids

Maximum Boy is a series of eight chapter books for young readers. These books were written by the funny author Dan Greenburg and illustrated by Greg Swearingen. Scholastic published them between 2001 and 2003.

The name "Maximum Boy" also refers to the main character of the series. He is a young superhero. Each book's full title starts with "Maximum Boy, starring in". For example, the first book was The Hijacking of Manhattan. It was also known as Hijacked! or How I Became a Superhero.

Maximum Boy's real name is Max Silver. He is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Chicago near Lake Michigan. He lives with his mom, dad, and older sister, Tiffany. Max wears braces and eyeglasses. But he also has amazing superpowers! He can lift huge freight trains and fly faster than a space shuttle. He can even burp the alphabet! Max has an adult friend named Porter Torrington, who is also a hero called "Tortoise Man". Tortoise Man has a special power called the Tortoise Ray.

Even superheroes have weaknesses! Max gets a very upset stomach from milk products and sweet potatoes. Ragweed makes him sneeze a lot. Also, seeing or hearing math problems makes him feel weak and dizzy. Dan Greenburg, the author, grew up in Chicago just like Max. He based some of Max's character on his own childhood. For instance, Greenburg really disliked math, and Max loses his powers if he faces a math problem.

The Maximum Boy books were some of the first works by illustrator Greg Swearingen. His name is linked to these books in the Library of Congress online catalog.

Maximum Boy Books: The Complete List

There are eight exciting books in the Maximum Boy series.

• The Hijacking of Manhattan (2001); also called Hijacked! or How I Became a Superhero
• Invasion from the Planet of the Cows (2001)
• Superhero ... or Super Thief? (2001)
• The Day Everything Tasted Like Broccoli (2001)
• Maximum Girl Unmasked (2002)
• Attack of the Soggy Underwater People (2002)
• Meet Super Sid, Crime-Fighting Kid (2002)
• The Worst Bully in the Entire Universe (2003)

What Happens in Superhero ... or Super Thief?

This book is the third in the series. Here's a quick look at the story:

Max's Morning Rush

Max forgot to set his alarm clock and woke up late. He had to do his morning routine super fast! He quickly jumped into the shower, which made his sister angry. Then he quickly ate his breakfast. On his way to school, Max faced many delays. He arrived at school just one minute before classes started.

A Frozen World Mystery

At school, Max found all his classmates and everyone else frozen still. His teacher, Mrs. Mulvahill, was staring right at him, frozen. He left his classroom and saw another frozen boy named Sheldon. When he left school, everyone outside was frozen too, even his own family. He met his adult friend, Tortoise Man. Tortoise Man and his wife were frozen while playing a game of Scrabble.

After a while, everyone thawed out and started talking about the world being frozen. A reporter named Warren Blatt arrived. He accused Tortoise Man of using his special Tortoise Ray to freeze the world. Then, the President of the United States called Max. He told Max that a thief had stolen four of the world's most famous treasures. These included the Mona Lisa painting, the Hope Diamond, the Crown Jewels, and a billion dollars in gold.

Max went home to check on his family. They were no longer frozen.

Max Faces Trouble

Max returned to school. His teacher told him he missed all the excitement of the world being frozen. Max explained why he was late, but he still had to go to detention.

After detention, Max saw the news on newspapers and TV. One report said that Tortoise Man's ray could slow things down.

The President called Max again. He asked Max to watch videos from the places where the treasures were stolen. Max saw that the thief was dressed like Maximum Boy! Because of this, Max's dad hired a lawyer for him. But the lawyer was a patent lawyer, not a defense attorney. This was a problem because Max ended up in jail. A hero named Noodleman, who was on Max's superhero team, called him. Noodleman told Max that he was kicked out of the league of superheroes. Max was very sad to hear this.

Finding the Real Thief

Max went to Tortoise Man for help, but Tortoise Man was feeling very down. Tortoise Man took Max to see his old friend, Ethelred, and Ethelred's helper, Wolfgang. Max finally figured out that Ethelred was the real thief! But then Ethelred passed away.

The President and Noodleman later came to apologize to Max. They realized they had wrongly accused him of stealing the four treasures.

Meet the Characters of Maximum Boy

Here are some of the important characters you'll meet in the Maximum Boy series:

• Max "Maximum Boy" Silver - He's the main hero! An 11-year-old boy with amazing superpowers.
• Porter "Tortoise Man" Torrington - An adult friend of Maximum Boy. He has a power called the Tortoise Ray. In one book, he used it to save Max from a villain.
• Tastemaker - An evil villain who appears in the series.
• Ethelred - The thief who pretended to be Maximum Boy. He was an old friend of Tortoise Man.
• Wolfgang - Ethelred's helper.
• Silvia/Tortoise Woman - Tortoise Man's wife.
• Warren Blatt - A reporter who accused Tortoise Man of a crime.
• The President - The President of the United States, who calls on Maximum Boy for help.
• Lester Boogerfinger - A patent lawyer hired by Max's dad, who thought he was a defense lawyer.
• Morton Smellybottom - A defense lawyer.
• Mrs Mulvahill - Max's teacher at school.
• Ben - One of Max's classmates.
• Jennifer - One of Max's classmates.
• Sherman - One of Max's classmates.
• Sheldon - A boy at Max's school.
• Silvia Trundle - A karate expert and marine biologist.
• Dr Zirkon - An evil scientist.
• Mr Silver - Max's father.
• Mrs Silver - Max's mother.
• Tiffany "Maximum Girl" Silver - Max's older sister. She often annoys Max, who sometimes calls her "his stupid sister". Tiffany gets powers after touching the same asteroids that gave Max his powers. However, she can't use her powers as well as Max. Maximum Girl's main enemy is the Calf.
• Mr Torrington - Tortoise Man's father.
• Mrs Torrington - Tortoise Man's mother.