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Made by Maxine
Meet Maxine, an inspiring young maker who knows that with enough effort and imagination (and mistakes), it's possible to invent anything.
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. She also loves her pet goldfish, Milton. So when it's time for her school's pet parade, she's determined to create something that will allow Milton to march with the other animals. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional--and absolutely fabulous--solution to her predicament.
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. She also loves her pet goldfish, Milton. So when it's time for her school's pet parade, she's determined to create something that will allow Milton to march with the other animals. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional--and absolutely fabulous--solution to her predicament.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published October 9, 2018
2 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Spiro
47 books77 followersRuth Spiro is the author of the Baby Loves Science series, published by Charlesbridge. These adorably illustrated board books contain expert-reviewed science, yet are simple enough for the very youngest readers. Another new picture book series, Made by Maxine, will be published by Dial in October, 2018.
Ruth is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, and recent presentations include the Early Childhood STEM Conference at CalTech and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Ruth is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, and recent presentations include the Early Childhood STEM Conference at CalTech and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 26, 2019
Not sure I like the idea that Maxine uses things around the house without permission (the vegetables and her old toys) but the concept of "thinking big and doing it" is a nice message. The humor about the fish (what it is or isn't doing or understand, after all he is a fish and it is hard to tell) is amusing and in some ways, adult but totally kid friendly.
January 16, 2026
4.5⭐️
Had to read it for ELED 102, but hey a book is a book.
This book was absolutly adorable and I love maxine she is an absolute diva and was most definetly me as a young child. I fear I took apart and put back together MANY a ball point pen simply just for giggles.
Had to read it for ELED 102, but hey a book is a book.
This book was absolutly adorable and I love maxine she is an absolute diva and was most definetly me as a young child. I fear I took apart and put back together MANY a ball point pen simply just for giggles.
March 3, 2026
Print—picture book to inspire makerspace
August 5, 2019
Perseverance, creativity, making. Pair with The Most Magnificent Thing.
April 20, 2019
Fun book about how creativity can overcome most, if not all, challenges! Full review now on my blog, complete with pictures.
April 18, 2019
Admittedly, it is rare for someone to gift us a book that is completely new to me… This year’s completely new-to-me book that we are THRILLED to have is Made by Maxine, by Ruth Spiro (you may already know her “Baby Loves Science” board books, like Baby Loves Coding!) and illustrated by Holly Hatam (who also illustrated Dear Girl).
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Made by Maxine tells the story of Maxine, a young tinkerer, who “loves making new things… from old things.” But it is so much more than simply a story about a girl who builds, creates, and reinvents. This is also a story about perseverance and grit, about loyalty and friendship. While these themes are all directly addressed in the text, Made by Maxine never reads didactically; the messaging is direct but natural. Creating new things, learning from mistakes, and loving friends— what a trifecta of wonderful messages to send young readers!
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Hatam’s illustrations are eye-catching and relatable for children. She includes detailed backgrounds on some pages, but on others, our eyes are drawn to Maxine’s creative process highlighted by a plain white background. My girls enjoy looking for Maxine’s mom and brother, who both show support for and pride in Maxine throughout the book. And, be sure to look carefully for photographs of real scientists taped to Maxine’s bedroom wall!
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Publishers recommend this book for ages 4-8. Our 3-year-old has asked for this repeatedly since receiving it, and I can see this being used with a group of older girls to inspire engineering and design projects.
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If you liked this, check out:
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers Book 1 by Andrea Beaty (chapter book— great for older readers)
DOLL-E 1.0 by Shanda McCloskey
Audrey the Amazing Inventor by Rachel Valentine
The “Baby Loves Science” series by Ruth Spiro (great for younger readers)
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Made by Maxine tells the story of Maxine, a young tinkerer, who “loves making new things… from old things.” But it is so much more than simply a story about a girl who builds, creates, and reinvents. This is also a story about perseverance and grit, about loyalty and friendship. While these themes are all directly addressed in the text, Made by Maxine never reads didactically; the messaging is direct but natural. Creating new things, learning from mistakes, and loving friends— what a trifecta of wonderful messages to send young readers!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Hatam’s illustrations are eye-catching and relatable for children. She includes detailed backgrounds on some pages, but on others, our eyes are drawn to Maxine’s creative process highlighted by a plain white background. My girls enjoy looking for Maxine’s mom and brother, who both show support for and pride in Maxine throughout the book. And, be sure to look carefully for photographs of real scientists taped to Maxine’s bedroom wall!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Publishers recommend this book for ages 4-8. Our 3-year-old has asked for this repeatedly since receiving it, and I can see this being used with a group of older girls to inspire engineering and design projects.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you liked this, check out:
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers Book 1 by Andrea Beaty (chapter book— great for older readers)
DOLL-E 1.0 by Shanda McCloskey
Audrey the Amazing Inventor by Rachel Valentine
The “Baby Loves Science” series by Ruth Spiro (great for younger readers)
January 11, 2019
Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Holly Hatam. PICTURE BOOK. Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), 2018. $17. 9780399186295
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Maxine’s class is having a pet parade and she is determined to find a way to let her pet fish participate. Luckily, Maxine is good at building things and she has lots of ideas for making her fish mobil. Many of these ideas do not work at first, but she keeps trying and makes the perfect mobil tank for the class pet parade.
It took me a minute to put my finger on what was different about this book, and the conclusion I came to was that I don’t see a lot of STEM books with cutesy illustrations. A lot of the books with strong tinkering girls have a more mature aesthetic, but this one has a curious girl and cutesy pictures. I think this will prove to be a great primer for young readers on mechanical girls.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Maxine’s class is having a pet parade and she is determined to find a way to let her pet fish participate. Luckily, Maxine is good at building things and she has lots of ideas for making her fish mobil. Many of these ideas do not work at first, but she keeps trying and makes the perfect mobil tank for the class pet parade.
It took me a minute to put my finger on what was different about this book, and the conclusion I came to was that I don’t see a lot of STEM books with cutesy illustrations. A lot of the books with strong tinkering girls have a more mature aesthetic, but this one has a curious girl and cutesy pictures. I think this will prove to be a great primer for young readers on mechanical girls.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
December 4, 2018
I enjoyed this one more than I had thought I would. There are a number of books like this out nowadays, the young female inventor/tinkerer who puts her creativity and hard work to use in her everyday life. This one was engaging. I liked the character of Maxine, along with her peculiar but inspiring dedication to her pet goldfish, Max. She experiences her share of failures in the inventing process, but is determined and achieves the desired outcome in the end. The lack of repetitive phrases of encouragement hammered into the text was also refreshing--there are no borderline-aggressive cheerleading chants throughout as too many books seem to rely upon of late ("YOU CAN DO IT!!!", "GO GIRL, GO!", etc.). Maxine is not a social butterfly or outgoing--but she is no shrinking violet, either, and I think kids will relate to her more readily for it.
Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy.
Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy.
June 30, 2019
“If I can dream it, I can make it!”
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She “de-constructed and re-constructed. Unscrews and re-glues.” When she sees Milton in a pet shop (“Was he waving to her? Since he was a fish, it was hard to tell.”), she decides he deserves a much bigger place to live than a little bowl. So she created a fabulous fish tank and a pedal-powered fish-feeder.
Then the teacher announces that they are going to have a pet parade at school. Maxine wants Milton to be there, too, but he can’t walk. How will she be able to include him in a parade? She gets to work right away ... and fails. She just can’t disappoint Milton, so she continues to tinker until she arrives at a solution.
Fun illustrations and a great “stick to it” message.
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She “de-constructed and re-constructed. Unscrews and re-glues.” When she sees Milton in a pet shop (“Was he waving to her? Since he was a fish, it was hard to tell.”), she decides he deserves a much bigger place to live than a little bowl. So she created a fabulous fish tank and a pedal-powered fish-feeder.
Then the teacher announces that they are going to have a pet parade at school. Maxine wants Milton to be there, too, but he can’t walk. How will she be able to include him in a parade? She gets to work right away ... and fails. She just can’t disappoint Milton, so she continues to tinker until she arrives at a solution.
Fun illustrations and a great “stick to it” message.
Read
September 9, 2021School Library Journal recommends this book for pre-school - 2nd grade.
Meet Maxine, an inspiring young maker who knows that with enough effort and imagination (and mistakes), it's possible to invent anything.
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. She also loves her pet goldfish, Milton. So when it's time for her school's pet parade, she's determined to create something that will allow Milton to march with the other animals. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional--and absolutely fabulous--solution to her predicament.
Meet Maxine, an inspiring young maker who knows that with enough effort and imagination (and mistakes), it's possible to invent anything.
Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. She also loves her pet goldfish, Milton. So when it's time for her school's pet parade, she's determined to create something that will allow Milton to march with the other animals. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional--and absolutely fabulous--solution to her predicament.
February 22, 2024
This book is about a little girl who loves to make things out of parts she has in her home, so she invents a contraption that will allow her to take her fish to school and feed it on Bring Your Pet to School Day. The first thing that comes to mind when I read this book is all the possibilities to tie it to science. I know there are standards that involve deconstruction something and reconstructing something new out of the same materials (which happens in the book) as well as other scientific themes.
November 10, 2018
I love reading about inventive kids who take action and make things work like Maxine does in this story. Maxine is inventive and finds a way to bring her fish to the pet parade, but like all inventors it takes multiple tries to find a way. Good book for teachers to read to students before a project and to show trying to solve the problems that come up in making something new for a project and accomplishing the task. Reminds me of the title; Crafty Chloe.
October 14, 2018
How does this book plot differ from The Most Magnificent Thing? A tinkerer likes to make things, tries and fails to make something awesome, but -- yay! -- is persistent and makes a mobile device for her pet. *yawn* Been there, read that.
October 16, 2018
Phenomenal book about perseverance, problem solving and STEM. I loved it and couldn't wait to use it with my preschool STEM class. The story of Maxine creating and tinkering, constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing is perfect for reminding kids that failure is not the end, but only the first try. Highly recommend!
December 7, 2018
A great story about a girl and her inventions for her pet goldfish. Has a great message about not giving up. "She had already discovered a million ways that would not work. Which meant she was getting closer to finding a way that would." Would be best enjoyed as an one-on-one story in order to see all the details in the illustrations.
January 27, 2019
Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro. Illustrated by Holly Hatam. Published October 9th, 2018 by Dial Books.
Has all of the three C’s: Cute, Colorful, Creative! Great picture book read for your curious child, crafter or tinkerer about a young girl’s determination to make her “impossible” situation work with her pet goldfish. Text is combined with colorful, clever illustrations. Highly recommend!
Has all of the three C’s: Cute, Colorful, Creative! Great picture book read for your curious child, crafter or tinkerer about a young girl’s determination to make her “impossible” situation work with her pet goldfish. Text is combined with colorful, clever illustrations. Highly recommend!
March 3, 2019
"If I can dream it, I can make it!" Maxine's determination to make sure Milton, her goldfish, is in the school pet parade makes this the perfect book to add to my growth mindset collection. It reminds me very much of The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. Maxine shows us how to make mistakes, fail forward, and keep trying until you make something wonderful!
April 1, 2019
Maxine is a girl who loves to recycle old things to build new things. One day her teacher tells the class to bring their pets to school for Pet Parade day, but since Maxine's pet has no feet, being a fish, Maxine figures out a way to allow her pet to march, too. Determination and good thinking.
Great illustrations.
Great illustrations.
January 1, 2020
"Made by Maxine" combines several initiatives present in current learning environments--makerspaces, Rube Goldberg-inspired projects, and "can-do" attitudes grounded in a commitment to pursuing success, even if it means first experiencing failure. An intriguing story that could easily be shared with a wide age-range of listeners.
January 18, 2023
I have a really honest confession...I am jealous of Maxine's life! I would love to have a career of doing what she does. She would love to live here because I have so many things around here to repurpose, upcycle, reglue, unscrew, screw back, construct, reconstruct....and more. This is an inspirational read for the pet lover, the crafter and the environmentalist. This is a jam packed book of fun!
June 12, 2018
Rosie Revere (an engineer), Ada Twist (a scientist), and blue-haired Charlotte (who makes a Doll-e 1.0) all know a thing or two about dreaming big dreams and creating innovative things - now they can add Maxine to their STEM-inspired girl gang!
January 22, 2019
A young inventor gets a new pet and dreams up a lovely new habitiat for him but when the pet parade happens at school she has to decide about her loyalty to her friend or her clasmates comments. Cute. Elementary and up. Very creative
February 26, 2019
For fans of stories featuring girls with ingenuity! Maxine wants to include her pet goldfish in her class's pet parade, but first she needs to invent a contraption to do so. It takes several tries, but she gets it. Love the trial and error and that she doesn't give up!
July 28, 2019
Received this book from the author at nErD Camp MI and completely fell in love with Maxine! Fun story for primary students focusing on the engineering design process and reimagining items from your daily life! Perfect for fans of Spires’ The Most Magnificent Thing!
October 1, 2018
Super fun book, perfect for maker spaces! Maxine tries and fails and never gives up until she finaly figures out how to make what she needs. Highly recommended for Kindergarten and up.
October 8, 2018
Maxine, who loves to make new things from old things, knows the limitless possibilities of imagination and invention.
October 22, 2018
My kid wanted to make something immediately after reading this book. Good STEAM content. Recommended for ages 5-7.
October 26, 2018
Great for teaching kids about "making" -- not being afraid to fail, using things you have to make other things, etc. -- and a fun story to boot.
November 1, 2018
10/27/2018 ~ Great to hear the author talk about how the illustrator added to the story.
November 29, 2018
This book has it all! A story of a girl engaged with STEM, a message of persistence, and a perpetual favorite with children-pets.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews