Prue Mason's "Max" teachers' review

Brief description and distinctive features

The original series – Through My Eyes Natural Disaster Zones - explored extreme weather experiences ranging from the 2011 tsunami in Japan, a typhoon in 2013 in the Philippines and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.  More recently the series has focused on Australian Disaster Zones: the 2019 devastating bush fires in Tasmania (Tyenna), the ferocity of Cyclone Veronica in 2019 in the Pilbara (Mia) and Alex, which uses the 2020 severe drought in South Australia’s Flinders range as its setting. Max uses the devastating 2022 Brisbane floods as its climate event and this will resonate with many students and their communities given the overwhelming extreme weather events in Australia in 2024 and 2025. 

In the previous 7-10 syllabus I thought the Cross Curriculum Priority of Substantiality had much appeal and potential for our English classrooms and selection of texts. Despite its omission in the current syllabus, there is still an important place for exploring texts which highlight the vulnerability of our planet and focus on the importance of social sustainability where resilience, compassion and community collaboration contributes to a positive well-being. The characters in this novel are affirmed the best of humanity.

Our students are certainly interested in the environment and texts such as Max give them an opportunity to learn about specific challenges facing our planet. It is worth considering that Mission Australia surveyed 19,501 young people aged 15-19 about what they regarded as the most important issues in Australia today. 44% identified the environment as one of the most important issues and many considered climate change and its effects on Australian life as of particular concern.

Brief description of Max

Max opens with a young boy flying in a Robertson 44 helicopter. This is an aircraft that is used for cattle mustering in the remote areas of the Northern Territory where the stations are huge. The Robertson is known for its manoeuvrability and agility. Max’s mum is the pilot and there are already concerns about the build-up of storms in the oppressive humidity of this February in Queensland. Most of the story is set in 2022 in suburbs of Brisbane which suffered heavily during the massive deluge of February 2022 following a declaration earlier of El Nina followed by the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth.

The main character is Max who is twelve and looking forward to being thirteen. He is a likeable, positive and thoughtful young man and has an endearing relationship with his immediate and wider family and friends His mother Anh is a pilot of Vietnamese heritage, his father Thom is an environmental scientist and his grandparents emigrated from Vietnam. Max’s uncle Joe is a celebrity weather presenter and Anh often has to fly Joe and news reporters to areas which have been affected by extreme weather events. Max‘s good friend Bianca Anderson is passionate about the environment and is involved in a range of causes: her T-shirt “There is no Planet B” is both resonate and relevant.

The weather features significantly in the story and there are numerous references to previous storms and floods. Brisbane is actually built on a floodplain and the Brisbane River has a long history of inundation.

Max is a keen bike rider and enjoys practicing manoeuvres and he is also likes rugby league and playing the saxophone. Biking and football takes him to the local park where he befriends Trent, a boy who has moved from Newcastle with his family. At first it is not fully clear what Trent’s actual situation is but it gradually emerges that Trent, his mother and young sister are living in their car having lost their home and the mother’s job. This situation forms part of the narrative’s subplot as this mode of living will be even more dangerous once the water rises. The storms builds, the humidity is oppressive and the rain is relentless. The floods occur more quickly than what was expected and thousands of people are caught unprepared. Max’s mum is flying to take reporters to crisis areas and is also involved in rescuing people surrounded by the floods. Max and his family are committed to helping everyone especially those who houses have flooded. Insights to the preparation needed for flood survival add interesting and valuable information. Like the other books in this series, the specific weather event becomes the focus and how to survive the crisis drives the narrative as well as providing valuable provocation for the reader in considering the environmental challenges of global warming, climate change, building on floodplains and increased urbanisation.

Prue Mason started her career as a flight attendant and she has a pilot’s licence. Her husband is a professional pilot. They lived in Canada and the Middle East and here Prue worked for a children’s newspaper writing feature article and short stories. They returned to Australia and since then Prue wrote Max for this series.

Lyn White is the Series creator and editor. Lyn has extensive experience as a teacher librarian and in 2010 completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Her work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones Lyn’s passion is engaging adolescents and teachers in quality texts.

Distinctive features of Max

• Max belongs to the genre known as contemporary realistic fiction.
• The story’s context of the 2022 Brisbane floods has been well researched so there is a compelling sense of the real.
• There are features of nonfiction which adds to the appeal of its realism:
  • The Dedication to  all those who helped each other during disasters is poignant in how such situations highlights the positives of humanity.
  • The acknowledgment of the traditional lands on which the story is set is an important reminder of the cultural heritage of these lands.
  • Two maps clarify the physical location of Brisbane in south-eastern Queensland and the second map is a close-up view of the location of the story in the suburbs around the Brisbane River and its tributaries.
  • The Author’s note gives valuable insights to Prue Mason’s own experiences.
  • A very valuable timeline on p. 180-183 outlines the chronology of the floods and includes some compelling statistics about the amount of rain and its impact.
  • On p 185-186 there are suggested resources for students and teachers to further explore and build their understanding and knowledge about such severe weather events.
• Max is told in the third person which focalises the perspective of twelve-year-old Max.
• The authentic and interesting adolescent characters of Bianca and Trent enhance the narrative’s engagement as do the interesting adults.
• The novel’s subplot involves Trent, his mother and sister who are homeless and live in their car. The gradual realisation by Max about their plight sees Max and indeed the reader, growing in empathy for the causes and plight of the homeless and the challenges they face.
• Prue Mason cleverly incorporates a range of different textual forms to add detail; for example, text messages with updates and details, newspaper reports, television emergency updates, weather commentators, documents and characters’ actual dialogue. See p 66-67, 72-73, 88, 91 for specific examples.
• The narrative informs the reader about a range of important topics: climate change, effects of ongoing rain events, references to Covid help remind us of its challenges, homelessness, isolation of the aged and the importance of friendship and strength
• There are Teaching Notes available at Allen and Unwin’s site which expand on the narrative features and include some excellent resources and internet sites.

Ways to use Max in the classroom

As a hook for your students consider a visual presentation of images of extreme weather events in Australia and overseas. YouTube provides many examples. Depending where you live you may have some compelling images of weather events in your local area. Given the number and ferocity of them in recent years your students will have some “weather” stories of their own. Contextualise the discussion in terms of the challenges to our planet as these events grow in frequency and ferocity. For example, the north coast of NSW had barely recovered from one intense storm when they were hit by more flooding and deluges. When the soil is already soaked and insurance becomes prohibitive, the impact can be catastrophic. Consider using some of the recommended resources on p.185-186 as part of orientation to the novel’s focus. For example, this report from ABC News is interesting and accessible.

The State Library of Queensland has an interesting overview of floods in the Brisbane River.

This post was made in 2011 but the information is still accurate and relevant to the context of Max.

Other ideas:

• What can we learn from fiction? In keeping with this series, Prue Mason has researched a range of subjects to ensure realism and credibility. In reading the text encourage students to keep a log on what they learn about the environment, nature and extreme weather through this story. This does not have to be an onerous task to interfere with the enjoyment of reading; the students could simply use post-it notes when they encounter something interesting about the environment or floods or disaster preparation and impact. At the end of their reading, each student could choose the three most interesting insights they gained from reading Max and share.
• Be sure to allocate class time for reading the text: this is a legitimate use of class time and should be valued; similarly reluctant readers are often energised by the group. 
• Encourage students to complete reading the first 7-8 chapters. As fiction, the exposition plays an important role in orientating the reader to where, when, what and who of the narrative.
• Form small groups and task the groups with deciding where the exposition for this story concludes. It is probably around the end of chapter five but students should be encouraged to offer their own reasons for their choice. Suggest they also consider the increasing references to the rain and its impact.  Ask them also to consider the subplot of Trent and how Trent’s situation is gradually revealed both to Max and the reader.
• Use the Distinctive Features above as specific areas of exploration.
• Once reading and exploration has been completed, allocate chapters to different groups to create a chapter heading which best captures the core ideas and meaning of the chapter. Each group is to present their chapter heading/s to the class with a brief justification for their choice. 
• The character of Max is the story’s hero and he combines many endearing and attractive qualities. Draw up a table of those characteristics and allocate 1-3 to groups to locate specific examples and textual references. This could lead to a sustained response on the role of Max in this text.

Tasks

Newspaper report

Write a human interest story for an online or printed local or statewide newspaper. The focus should be on Max and his family’s efforts. Use specific detail from the novel and add other details if this suits the purpose and context. Revisit the requirements of a feature article and be sure to include:

• An engaging headline
• Information about the context 
• Photographs and captions
• If online, include links to other sites for extra information or images. 

Imaginative writing

Use one of these phrases from the novel as a starting point for students’ own imaginative writing which uses an extreme weather event as its focus. 

Write about 600-800 words and seek feedback from two other students as to the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. Consider this feedback for the final draft. Include an image to suit the story’s content.

• “But this whole summer was different.”
• “Yesterday the rain seemed to be just another way to have fun.”
• “The water came down like thick steel rods and gushed in waves along the paths.”
• “The carpet was sodden with mud and the lounge room celling sagged.”

Group task

Form small groups to work on this task.

The topic is:

“There is no Planet B.” 
How can literature help us understand the challenges of nature and our world?

Decide what form the response will take e.g. conventional essay, digital essay, Prezi, group oral presentation.

Each group is to explore 

• 1-2 websites focusing on the environment and choose one
• 1-2 editorial cartoons raising awareness of climate change and choose one
• 2 speeches e.g. Tim Winton, Greta Thunberg and choose one
• View a few episodes of ABC Ningaloo and choose one

Relevant details in relation to the new NSW English 7-10 syllabus

Text requirements: Max is a novel (extended prose) by an Australia author. It includes a range of cultural, social and gender perspectives, including from popular and youth cultures.
Looking for more classroom texts for Stage 4 students? Browse our Year 7 texts and study guides and Year 8 texts and study guides at Five Senses Education.

Concepts could include Representation • Point of View • Narrative • Characterisation • Perspective and context.

Relevant NSW English 7-10 Syllabus content

Reading, viewing and listening to texts

A student uses a range of personal, creative and critical strategies to read texts that are complex in their ideas and construction EN4-RVL-01

Reading, viewing and listening for meaning

• Explore the main ideas and thematic concerns posed by a text for meaning
• Identify and understand that relevant prior knowledge and personal experience enables and enhances understanding when reading, viewing or listening to texts

Reading for challenge, interest and enjoyment

• Read texts selected to challenge thinking, develop interest and promote enjoyment, to prompt a personal response
• Understand the ways reading helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world

Reflecting

• Reflect on how reading promotes a broad and balanced understanding of the world and enables students to explore universal issues
• Reflect on own experiences of reading by sharing what was enjoyed, discussing challenges to strengthen an understanding of the value of reading

Understanding and responding to texts A

A student analyses how meaning is created through the use of and response to language forms, features and structures EN4-URA-01

Point of view

• Recognise how texts engage and position the audience to perceive events, characters and ideas using narrative voice and focalisers, tense, sequencing and intrusion, and apply this understanding in own texts

Characterisation

• Analyse how engaging characters are constructed in texts through a range of language features and structures, and use these features and structures in own texts
• Understand how the interactions of characters, such as protagonists and antagonists, might be perceived to represent aspects of human relationships, and experiment with interactions when composing texts

Narrative

• Understand narrative conventions, such as setting, plot and sub-plot, and how they are used to represent events and personally engage the reader, viewer or listener with ideas and values in texts, and apply this understanding in own texts
• Examine how narratives can depict personal and collective identities, values and experiences 

Understanding and responding to texts C

A student identifies and explains ways of valuing texts and the connections between them EN4-URC-01

Genre

• Understand how a genre addresses its purpose through patterns of textual elements, such as structure, choice of language, character archetypes and settings, and apply these patterns in own texts
• Analyse how texts can participate in larger, established patterns of narrative, purpose, theme and tone by exhibiting and challenging conventions, and experiment with conventions in own texts
• Explore particular genres to identify ways they may be adapted to different modes and media, or refreshed by combining with other genres, and experiment with these in own texts

(English K-10 Syllabus 2022 © NSW Education Standards Authority for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2023) 

Connecting texts