The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth
Type: Book
Location: Towson Library
Complete Citation : The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth , By: Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator) Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Reviews:
The most recent adventures of the super-special yellow vehicle have, frankly, not been quite up to speed. But in this latest episode, the series gets back on track. The students, wanting to get their dotty science teacher, Ms. Frizzle, a special gift for Earth Day, lease her a cocoa tree in the rain forest along with its entire harvest--one lousy bean, as it turns out. Why such a skimpy crop? The only way to find out is to head for the rain forest, and yes, it's a jungle in there. With a nice, light touch, the video does a first-rate job of explaining ecosystems and the interconnectedness of creatures and plants great and small.
Family Life; Sep2000, p113
Joanna Cole The Magic School Bus
Explores the Senses; illus. by Bruce Degen 48 pp. Scholastic 3/99 ISBN
0-590-44697-5 15.95 (Primary)
After nine fantastic voyages, it was inevitable that someone else at school
would get behind the wheel of the Magic School Bus. In what is perhaps the best
volume yet in the popular series, the new assistant principal, Mr. Wilde, jumps
into the driver's seat as the class tries to catch up with Ms. Frizzle after
school to relay an important message. Even though the children warn him against
it, Mr. Wilde flips the mysterious green switch on the dashboard; to his
surprise (but no one else's), the bus begins to shrink. No bigger than a speck
of dust, the bus flies into the eye of a nearby human being, who just happens to
be Ms. Frizzle herself. The children use their knowledge of human anatomy to
guide Mr. Wilde and the bus out of their teacher's eye, where they land promptly
inside a boy's ear. From there they move to a dog's nose and then (thanks to a
sneeze) back to Ms. Frizzle's tongue via a slice of pizza she's eating at an
outdoor cafe. Throughout their journey, the children explore the five senses by
applying information culled from their school reports and by making lots of bad
puns, as is typical with the books in this series. What makes this volume stand
out is the added drama of a stranger learning the class secret, coupled with an
intriguing story line: what does Ms. Frizzle do when she leaves school? Like
most teachers, she engages in ordinary activities: shopping, meeting her mother
for dinner, going for a spin in her bright yellow convertible. Unlike most
teachers, she unknowingly takes her entire class along with her and joins them
in their puns ("It takes a lot of nerve to go there!"). The book concludes with
an award ceremony for Ms. Frizzle ("Most Field Trips") and a rock band, led by
Smellvis, singing "The Song of What's Wrong." And from the look on Mr. Wilde's
face, it won't be his last trip on the Magic School Bus.
Horn Book Magazine; Jul/Aug99
Topic/ Curricular Area: Science
Age/Grade Level: All ages
Summary: On a special field trip in the magic school bus, Ms Frizzle's class learn at first hand about different kinds of rocks and the formation of the earth
Use/ Application: All types of sciences in the classroom
Related Activities:
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/home.htm
Science Fair Activities!
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/teacher/index.htm
Personal Recommendation: This series covers many areas of science. They are entertaining and have videos as well.