The Truth about Bats (Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books) by Eva Moore

The Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books #1

by Ted Enik

"Based on the Magic school bus books written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen"--T.p. verso.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Chapter Books, Animals, Nonfiction, School, Picture Books

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Veteran author / illustrator, Ted Enik, has worked for most of the top-tier publishers in New York City; applying his versatility to both original art as well as classic and current children’s book characters. Once part of the favored stable of "Magic School Bus" artists, tapped to fill Hilary Knight’s venerable shoes for the Eloise hardcover, "Eloise in Hollywood," and most recently the primary illustrator for the beloved Fancy Nancy “I Can Read™” series.

Ted has always been a writer—plays and film—and lately Illustrated Books (including Graphic Novels, that increasingly catchall category) with quirky plots and original voices. He’s is known for possessing a polished “voice,” a honed “ear,” and a ruthless, self-inflicting, red editor’s pen.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! I learned so much about bats from this fascinating title from the magic school bus! Spotted bats are just plain cute, the “rabbits” of the bat world. Austin, TX is more or less the bat Capitol of the United States. The state of Texas is home to 32 species of bats! This series of nonfiction is highly recommended!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when it taught me that a mist net (a net that you can barely see) can catch a rare spotted bat. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when it told me in Texas a bunch of bats come near the bridge.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both my kids (ages 6 and 8) really liked this book. My 8 year old said it made the educational parts a lot of fun.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book out loud to a small group of 1st graders in a book club setting. Other books we read include Magic Treehouse, Junie B Jones, Princess in Black, and Dragon Masters.

I was hoping that this could be another series I could get students started with, but this was definitely above their level of comprehension. This book is more teaching than story, which is ok, but difficult for students that young to focus on. They liked discussing bat facts and when I showed them pictures of the bats from the story. Unfortunately that was about all they liked about this book. I think this may go over better with students in 2nd grade and above, unless the student is particularly interested in a specific topic.

I did like the illustrations and the way the main text of the story is interspersed with notes from Ms. Frizzle and the students in her class. If I had a student who was interested in a subject covered by one of these books but was reluctant to read fiction, I would recommend this series.

[Karson Canterbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

The truth about bats is one of the first in a new series of Magic School Bus books that switches from being picture books to early chapter books. It is a really easy follow that divides the chapters into big ideas and key concepts. It teaches a very wide field of information about bats in fun ways, like how big brown bats are, where to find bats, and other chapters like that, while also still including some illustrations and not having too hard language.

[Laurie Mastrolia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun and sort of nostalgic to read this book for my book club with my grandson. His mom and aunt used to watch the show on PBS and read the picture books when they were little. I felt like they (and me, too) always learned something. I did from this one. I didn’t know all the information about bats that was in the book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little family loves watching the Magic School Bus movies and t.v. series. We just recently started buying the books at used book stores. This is the first one we have read and it doesn't disappoint. I love when the authors can keep a six year old entertained with adventure. Facts, and humor. We enjoyed learning about the different types of bats and th facts about each one.

[Aisley Faust]

This was a good educational book all about bats! Told by Ralphie's POV, you get to learn some really amazing facts about bats including the size and wingspan of multiple types of bats! In addition you get to learn the diet, about their homes, how echolocation works and more! I hope you enjoy this fun but factual book about bats.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review by Andrew (age 8)

I think this book was a bit weird and kind of funny. Some was fiction and some was non-fiction. I liked the information I learned about different kinds of bats, but the fiction part was silly.

[Bailey Winter]

This book is very popular to young children. But is about a group of kids that go on a field trip on the "Magic School Bus" Ms. Frizzle their teacher tells them that they will be taking care of and learning more about bats. They go on adventure and figure out new things.

[curiouskat_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as watching the show, but still packs in a good amount of information in an easy to understand format. I just wish the notes were added at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book. It was frustrating to have to stop in the midst of the story to read these expanation asides.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my 9 year old. He and I both love the Magic School Bus!

This book is short, but it got the message across whilst being fun and informative.

All the characters from the Magic School Bus are in this book (except Liz). We loved it!

[Jessica Reyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a good book series. It has a lot of adventures and it’s educational.

[Durga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Chapter book for beginners. I read it with my 8 year old. we both learned a lot of facts about bats, mainly how bats help humans by eating lots of insects.

[Lyndsay-ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved watching the show as a child and reading the book was also fun. Learnt some stuff about bats I didn't know before.

[Katherine Claussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kynley’s first chapter book she picked out and we read!!

[Simplekind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and informative.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old enjoyed this book. He’s read a few other of the Magic School Bus chapter book and so far this is his favorite.

[Chris Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book drove me batty!

[Andressa Da Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me learn so much about bats as a kid and I learned to not hate them

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book very detailed and educational

[Fatimah · Rating 4 out of 5]

even tho it is a book for younger people, i honestly learned some new stuff

[Charsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know this is a kids chapter book, but bats are my favorite animal and this was super cute and had such good information and a lot of fun facts !!

[Daria Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was best Magic School Bus Chapter Book #1 about study of the bats like based on this episode. That is favorite part is Phoebe just pets a bat.

[Erin Nudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with the kid. Fun and super educational.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my 3rd graders. We were learning about bats and this had just enough facts to satisfy our questions.

[Juliattae · Rating 4 out of 5]

OHMYGODDDDD YEAH!!! This is my oldddd book that I read when I was in elementary school! The story was so fun and I love the kids character here!

Perjalanan magic school bus, sekarang menuju ke sebuah gua. Dan kini Miss Frizzle mengajak muridnya mencari kelelawar! This so interesting because we can find everything about the bats. Apa makanannya, tempat hidupnya, cara ekolokasinya dan mitos tentang kelelawar itu sendiri.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter picked this book because she is fascinated by vampires, bats, and monsters. It was a very "informative" type of book that focused more on delivering information than an actual story or plot line.

I wasn't sure how she would take to it, but she loved it! We read a couple of chapters and she kept asking for more until we had read the entire book in one sitting. She seemed to enjoy the facts about bats more than the story.

Once we had finished reading, we talked about the story what we had learned about bats. I was surprised by how much she could relay back to me. It probably helped that it was a subject that she loves, too.

This is the only Magic School Bus book that we have read, and I thought it was pretty good. Sometimes I prefer to get my information from non-fiction books, but the informative story also worked fairly well.

The Illustrations: The artwork was nice to have in the book because there were lots of drawings of bats to explain their anatomy and how they sleep. I wouldn't say that I loved the illustrations, but they served the purpose of the book well.
More reviews on my blog: Books for Kids

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children seem to like the Magic School Bus books. They like the picture books better, but the chapter books are quite interesting, as well. They are a good way to introduce the world around us. If you’ve never read a Magic School Bus book, they feature a teacher named Ms. Frizzle. Ms. Frizzle wears unique dresses which are covered with pictures of whatever it is that the class is studying—planets, bees, frogs, bats, or whatever. As the class learns about the topic, they go out to the old school bus to take a field trip. As soon as the bus starts off, it turns into something else so that they can get a firsthand look at their subject. Sometimes the bus becomes a rocket, or a helicopter, or goes inside a drop of rain, or even inside the human body.

In The Truth About Bats, the class is going on a field trip to Yosemite to see bats.

Read my full review here.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Frizzle's class travels to Yosemite to learn about bats. Ms. Frizzle dispels the fears of her students and myths about bats as they explore a bat cave, camp in Yosemite and mist net bats with the park ranger. The book also combines short insets with bat facts disguised as homework assignments completed by the class.

Children that enjoy science and fantasy novels may enjoy this story. It would be appropriate for readers between seven and nine. Children will enjoy the mix of illustrations, text and fact insects. Other books about different scientific processes are also available in the series.