The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip

The Magic School Bus #9

by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Scholastic is re-releasing the ten original Magic School Bus titles in paperback. With updated scientific information, the bestselling science series ever is back!

Small enough to squeeze through power lines, Ms. Frizzle's class learns how electric current travels through the town, lights up a light bulb, heats up a toaster, and runs an electric motor. Fans of the Magic School Bus won't be left behind by this simple and informative introduction to the generation and distribution of electricity.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Adventure, Physics, Juvenile

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Joanna Cole, who also wrote under the pseudonym B. J. Barnet, was an author of children’s books who teaches science.

She is most famous as the author of The Magic School Bus series of children's books. Joanna Cole wrote over 250 books ranging from her first book Cockroach to her famous series Magic School Bus.

Cole was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby East Orange. She loved science as a child, and had a teacher she says was a little like Ms. Frizzle. She attended the University of Massachusetts and Indiana University before graduating from the City College of New York with a B.A. in psychology. After some graduate education courses, she spent a year as a librarian in a Brooklyn elementary school. Cole subsequently became a letters correspondent at Newsweek, and then a senior editor for Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rather enjoying this trip down memory lane for the Magic School Bus series. Every time I read one of these books, it's like visiting an old friend. Hello. I've missed you too.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very embarrassed that I learned MORE THAN ONE THING from this book. My brain has severely deteriorated since school. And yet, I consider myself more scientifically literate than the average person. I have some soul-searching to do.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really packs a punch. It covers everything from electrons to how power plants function to the purpose of transformers to how electrical motors work...and that's only the half of it. The downside is it's a bit overwhelming for a young kid, the upside is the adult will likely learn a lot reading it!

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

All aboard the Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degan (very cleverly!). This time they go through a power plant, a power saw, and a vacuum cleaner.

But don't worry--no electrons are hurt in this book.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like electric stuff. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when everybody went on a electric field trip.

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took extra long to get through. Fills in some of the gaps from my two identical physics classes, but still - what is a magnet?!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that talks about electricity. What it is, how it's made, how it makes appliances operate and the system that carries it into our homes and businesses. Ms. Frizzle takes the kids on a fictional field trip through the wires to show them how it all works and although there's a lot of information provided, it's simple enough for children to understand the basics. Our girls just love the Magic School Bus series!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chock full of information about electricity. I learned a lot myself!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very good. I love the magic school bus books, they are always very educational. In this one, Ms. Frizzle teaches the students about electricity while introducing her niece, Dottie. Dottie is very similar to Ms. Frizzle in that they both have a lot of energy and a big love for science. The power goes out in the school and the students want to know what happened. So they take a field trip and find out that there is a tree branch that fell on the power lines. The students learn about electricity and eventually decide to go to the power plant to see how electricity is transferred to the homes. Similar to most of the books the children get to experience themselves in the form of being shrunk down to a very small size and get to travel the path of electricity, from the plant to their house.
There is always so much work put into these books. It is never just the story that is written, the side commentary does a very good job including the side comments and questions about what they are learning or side commentary as they are being shrunk down so they can travel in the power lines.
This is a good book to use in a clinic setting because it could be used to teach children how to socialize with their peers or be able to ask questions. It can also be a good book for learning how to read- the new reader could read some of the side comments and the clinician could help by reading the other things on the page. It is also a good book to introduce a child to school.

[Faith Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the iconic Ms. Frizzle and her class as they discover electricity. They go on a field trip to an electric plan, where they become smaller than electrons. They follow the current to and from various things learning about how electricity makes them work. I personally love Ms. Frizzle and her crazy antics.

Overall it is a really cute book. It's pretty long, but that shouldn't be a problem for kids that are slightly older. It is very informative, but parts of it may soon become outdated with advancements in technology. One of the first things was when they made a list of things in their classrooms that run on electricity, they put a VCR player. Children may not know what that is, simply because it is not mainstream anymore.

I would definitely have this in my classroom. It has a few experiment ideas in the book that we could try after reading. It would be a great way to tie in Science and English to the classroom in a fun way. I think it would be a good starting point to the science lesson.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite Magic School Bus book as a kid. It explained electricity succinctly and well for a kid’s book, even if it did use direct current because alternating current is supposedly too complex for kids. Curse you, Thomas Edison!

Anyways, the reason why Magic School Bus books do scientific concepts so well is because of how it uses the magical realist conceit of a school bus that can shrink and disguise itself and go back in time and do other things to show things, in this case, electricity, close up. The most famous part of the Magic School Bus, the bus itself, is the reason why it works so well, and that is demonstrated very well in this book, where the bus goes into wires. Pretty cool.

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a good choice, this MSB edition tells about the way electricity moves and how a power plant makes it. There is humor like usual and detailed diagrams. This topic is not covered in middle school, so I've not seen many resources covering it, but I enjoyed this one and also enjoyed Miss Frizzle's niece.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book nine of the Magic School Bus series sees another mix of fictional story with lots of non fiction information this time about electricity.
Again it is a very busy book, and one that kids could read again and again and pick up new bits oi information each time.

[Lili · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa asked a lot of questions and was very interested even though it's what she considers a long book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very cool when they went electrical, and then the walked on electric, and at the end [spoiler alert] they popped out of, like, a machine, or something like that.

[Megan Nauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for teaching children about electricity in a fun and memorable way. The illustrations along with the writing style give this book an overall exciting feeling.

[Rayjan Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun & educational book.

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love the Magic School Bus series. These books are so informative and visually appealing for readers of all ages.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

P.S. I read the Chinese version

[Ashley]

FS:
LS:

(In computer.)

[Maggie Panning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this show but oh my goodness, this book was a torment to read. There's just so much there and it isn't fun to read. I will (hopefully) not be reading another Magic School Bus book.

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shout-out to Phoebe's grandmother for carving out a heart shaped hole with a circular saw. She's the best carpenter since Jesus.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

AR 4.4

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the electricity goes out at Ms. Frizz's class, she takes her class on an adventure through the power plant, showing them how electricity and electrons work.

[Grandma M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much to be learned from these books - for kids and adults.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned SO MUCH from this book!! Apparently I had absolutely no idea how electricity worked. My son has been asking lately and I just had to tell him I had no idea. Know we both know. It's magnets!

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

AYE you know it’s the end of the year when….so glad we finished this book so we can now watch the episode!!! Do we think my kids will think the book is better??

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Frizzle and her class explore the electric field on the magic school bus. Anther great installment in the Magic School Bus series teaching science.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins with an ordinary public-school class who have an extraordinary teacher. On their field trip to an electric power plant, Ms. Frizzle, Mary Poppins-like, shrinks the class to the size of electrons and they magically travel through the plant and into power lines, through light bulbs and into everyday appliances. In the course of this journey, they learn how electricity is generated and used for different purposes. The story is told with creativity, humor, and a level of detail that is appropriate for the target audience.

Because the topic of electricity is more complex than some of the other Magic School Bus topics, it may be better to read aloud all the sidebar text and conversations, not just the primary narrative text. Introduction of this slightly more advanced book may need to wait a year or so later than other books in the series. As I've said before, I recommend only the original books in this series, not the derivative ones based on the TV program.