Another favourite series of books we love is the Magic School Bus. Written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, the Magic School Bus takes children on wild and exciting field trips to learn all about the world around them. This series of books is intended for children age 4 and up and is a great way to nurture their budding curiosity about science and nature.
The Magic School Bus Books fall under five categories:
- Original Magic School Bus Classics
- Magic School Bus TV Tie-ins (books following the stories shown in the Magic School Bus TV series)
- Magic School Bus Science Readers
- Magic School Bus Chapter Books
- Ms Frizzle’s Adventures.
Magic School Bus TV-Tie-ins:
The Magic School Bus Blows its Top
Description: Ms. Frizzle’s class is having a hard time putting together a giant globe of the world. A piece is missing…an island so new it hasn’t been discovered yet! Before they know it, the kids are beneath the oceans’s surface, exploring an underwater volcano. Join the class as they learn about volcanoes.
The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
Description: It’s beach day, and the whole class is excited. Everyone except Arnold and Keesha, that is. They forgot their report on two beach things that go together. All Arnold and Keesha have is a tunafish sandwich and some smelly green pond scum. What could those two things possibly have in common? “The best way to learn about something is to jump right in,” Ms. Frizzle announces. A second later the bus dives right into the ocean! Come on an underwater adventure and learn about food chains.
The Magic School Bus in the Arctic
Description: There’s nothing Arnold loves more than a steaming cup of hot cocoa – unless of course it’s become cold cocoa. “Where did the hot go?” moans Arnold. Ms. Frizzle knows a way to find out. It’s time for another ride on the Magic School Bus. Come along with Ms. Frizzle and the gang to the Arctic Circle as they learn it’s not just about getting warm, but finding a way to keep the heat you have.
The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow
Description: The class finds Ms. Frizzle inside her closet – playing pinball! But this is no ordinary pinball machine – it’s played with light pulses, not steel balls. The Friz has to light up the six colours of the rainbow to win the game, and the kids want to help her. So they take the Magic School Bus inside the pinball machine. Buckle up for this enlightening adventure and learn the secrets of colour.
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Description: Ms. Frizzle’s class is growing a beautiful garden, but Phoebe’s plot is empty. Her flowers are at her old school! So, the kids climb aboard the Magic School Bus. They go to Phoebe’s old school to get some of her old flowers, but they end up actually going inside the flowers. Follow the kids’ colourful adventure as they learn how living things grow.
The Magic School Bus Sees Stars
Description: Ms. Frizzle and her class are trying to come up with a birthday present for Dorothy Ann. A TV salesman seems to have the perfect idea – the kids can buy a star from him and name it after Dorothy Ann. But Keesha doesn’t want to buy anything sight unseen. So Ms. Frizzle rockets the class off on a field trip to outer space. Join the class as they do some careful star shopping and gain a lot of star knowledge along the way.
More titles in this series (these are no longer in print):
- The Magic School Bus Kicks up a Storm – about the weather
- The Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie – about germs
- The Magic School Bus Goes Upstream – about salmon migration
- The Magic School Bus Plays Ball – about forces
- The Magic School Bus in a Pickle – about microbes
- The Magic School Bus Taking Flight – about flight
- The Magic School Bus Spins a Web – about spiders
- The Magic School Bus: Butterfly and the Bog Beast – about camouflage
- The Magic School Bus Out of this World – about space rocks
- The Magic School Bus Gets Cold Feet – about warm and cold-blooded animals
- The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive – about coral reefs
- The Magic School Bus in the Haunted Museum – about sound
- The Magic School Bus Gets Planted – about photosynthesis
- The Magic School Bus Ups and Downs – about floating and sinking
- The Magic School Bus Gets Baked in a Cake – about kitchen chemistry
- The Magic School Bus Hops Home – about animal habitats
- The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells – about archaeology
- The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad – about decomposition
Nurture for the Future 