Book Description

The Magic School Bus was a series of children's books intended to teach scientific concepts to children. The books feature the exploits of Ms. Frizzle and her class of students at Walkerville Elementary School who board a magical school bus which takes them on educational adventures to space, under the Earth, into the human body, or to other such locations. The books were written in the first person from the point of view of an unnamed student in the Friz's class.

Synopsis:

When the Magic School Bus turns into a beehive, Ms. Frizzle's class learns firsthand about how workers, drones, and the queen bees live together. Readers will be abuzz with knowledge as they discover how honeybees find food; make a comb, honey, and beeswax; and care for their young, all from the bee's perspective.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4?Nobody can organize a field trip like the indomitable Ms. Frizzle! This time out she introduces her class to the insect kingdom via an excursion through a honeybee hive. Garbed in bee costumes complete with antennae, and sprayed with the proper pheromones, the students are accepted by the workers and allowed to perform such chores as foraging for nectar and pollen, building honeycombs, making honey, and feeding larvae. They also have the opportunity to observe typical honeybee behavior. The field trip ends with a bit of drama when a bear tries to raid the hive. A plethora of pseudo school reports provide additional information on the topic. Degen's colorful and amusing cartoons heighten the adventures. Clearly written and well organized, this new title presents accurate scientific information leavened with a touch of humor that is never condescending. The character of the magical Ms. Frizzle is as well developed and intriguing as ever. Charles Micucci's The Life and Times of the Honeybee (Ticknor & Fields, 1995) provides greater detail on honeybee behavior, but Cole's title is more tightly organized. It lacks the close-up color photography provided in Heiderose and Andreas Fischer-Nagel's excellent Life of the Honeybee (Carolrhoda, 1986) but it provides much the same general information and will be a good companion volume. This title will leave the legion of fans of the "Magic School Bus" series clamoring for more.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. When Ms. Frizzle's students board the magic school bus for a class trip to watch a beekeeper, no one should be surprised when the bus turns into a beehive and the children morph into bees. Still recognizable despite their bee suits, wings, and antennae, Arnold and his classmates visit flowers to gather nectar and soon gain admittance to a nearby hive. There Ms. Frizzle leads them on an informative tour and explains bee communication, hive making, honey production, social structure, mating, development, and metamorphosis. As in the earlier books, the text appears in boxes, in notebook-paper pages of student reports, and in the voice balloons of the characters. Degen's humorous line drawings washed with watercolors fill the pages with plenty of action and intriguing details. Given the series' enormous popularity, children will open this book with high expectations for fun as well as facts. They will not be disappointed.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Carolyn Phelan

Book Dimension :

length: (cm)21.4 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)25.4