Max Flax

Reviewed by: Beth Adams

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.

Reviewed by: Gabriella Harrison 

Adventurous Max Flax by creator Kathleen Curtis Wilson is an informative, illustrated children’s book which explains the history of Irish linen and the processes involved in turning it into useable items; such as clothes, towels, umbrellas, maps, flags, ship sails, bandages, sacks for holding grain, etc. 

The narration follows Max Flax, a lively flax plant, on his journey from a field outside the village along the river Mourne until he gets sold to a coffee plantation owner in South America. 

Max Flax grows up in a field with his friends and is happy to be with them, but every day, he worries about his future, hoping he will be used to making a man’s linen shirt or some other beautiful item rather than a little boy’s underpants that will likely get soiled. Then, one morning, he is lifted from the field, wrapped in a bundle with his family and friends, and carried away. 

What will become of Max? Will his dream of becoming a man’s linen shirt be fulfilled, or will he be made into a little boy’s underpants? 

Using simple everyday words and lovely illustrations by Geoff Fulton, Wilson explains step by step how linen is gotten and turned into the beautiful items we admire and use regularly, from the first stage of retting to the last stage of sewing. While these steps are explained briefly with short sentences and illustrations, there is a more detailed explanation of each step at the end of the book and a glossary of some words with drawings of the tools used in the various stages. The colors are bright and add cheer to the book. Max’s cheerful disposition as he goes through the process of being transformed from a flax plant to usable linen is encouraging. 

This is a lovely book to spark children’s interest in fabrics, design, clothes, and the processes involved in creating these clothes and other items they are already familiar with. It is also a simple way to teach them about Irish linen and perhaps encourage them to find out about other materials used to make clothes. This book would be particularly helpful for linen weavers who want to explain what they do to children. I enjoyed how easy Wilson made it to understand each stage and how jovial Max is when narrating what he experiences. I especially like how proactive Max is in ensuring the yarn from his hair doesn't remain in the spinner’s wheel on a bobbin. Instead, he picks it up and goes looking for a weaver working at his loom to turn his yarn into linen. Then he follows through to see what will be done with it, unafraid to visit a different continent. I believe drawing children’s attention to this lesson will encourage them to be proactive. 

Kathleen Curtis Wilson’s illustrated children’s book Adventurous Max Flax is insightful in highlighting the dedication involved in turning a flax plant into linen