Spins a Web : A Book about Spiders (Magic School Bus) by Joanna Cole

Magic School Bus TV Tie-Ins

by Tracey West

Ms. Frizzle's class learns all about spiders.

Genres: Childrens, Science, Picture Books, Animals, Nature, Kids, Adventure

Paperback

First published February 1, 1988

About the author

Tracey West is the New York Times bestselling author of Dragon Masters, a series in the Scholastic Branches line. She has written more than 400 books for kids, including the Pixie Tricks series and the Underdogs series with Kyla May.

Some readers also know Tracey for writing books based on animation such as Pokémon and LEGO Ninjago.

She currently lives in the western Catskills of New York with her husband, Bill; their adopted dogs; and a whole mess of chickens.

Reviews

[Ashley Klausmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes right along with the show "The Magic School Bus". It is not my favorite book, but I think it would be a good one for kids to read. It teaches them how to face their fears in order to get over them. It also has very detailed illustrations that help tell the story.

[Paxton Bleich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite interesting to say the least. Ms. Frizzle takes her class to a sci-fi movie at a drive-in. During the movie an army is trying to kill a giant praying mantis. Phoebe gets super angry. She doesn't think the army should trap and kill the big bug. She believes it should stay alive. Since she is so mad, the Friz starts up the Magic School Bus and drives right into the movie. They then learn all about spiders. The master trapper teaches them tricks and shows them different spiders.

I gave this book 3/5 stars. I thought it was quite lengthy for a children's book. But I do think it would be a great book to include in my classroom library. It may also be a great book on a science unit. I know many lower elementary grades and classrooms do a spider writing report. This would be a great book to read right before discussing the report.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since my 4 year old grandson is currently very interested in animal videos on You Tube, when it was reading time we read this Ms. Frizzle adventure in which the magic school bus becomes a spider.

Fun storyline and lots of great spider facts.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Scientist say that you're usually never more than three feet away from a spider!" The class explores spiders and their webs; nature's traps.

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love the magic school bus series of books, they are very educational!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun and interesting book about spiders in the Magic School Bus series. Our girls were amazed to learn that scientists estimate that you're never more than 3 feet away from a spider. Crazy fictional field trip that teaches a lot about the world of spiders. Fun and educational - our girls love this series!

[Sarah A · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are educational books - very American. Some are great and some are just ok and some are weird. My daughter would choose this book after a day of getting rid of nasty bugs. Not the best in the series and too much of the kids showing their disgust with the spiders and not enough trying to be positive.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great educational books for kids that are fun and entertaning.

[Michael D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good science book for exploring the world of insects.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story allows the magic school bus kids to learn about spiders, but it shows way too many of the hallmarks of being first made as a tv episode. Clunky and too crowded.

[Haley Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be good to use for a lesson about insects since it’s about spiders.

[Maleny Ramos]

about a magic school bus and diferent animals that ride the bus

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science
Spiders
Habitat
Characteristics
Food
Web
Fr1-4

[Emily Modder]

This picture book written by Joana Cole take us into the world of spiders. The informational book contains all of the basics of what we need to know about spiders. It takes us through how they spin their webs to where they don't get caught in their own. This was an excellent example of the type of informational text that children could read and gain their own understanding. Also, this is an exceptional children's picture book for that reason. The book is formatted to a graphic novel styles with word bubbles and tons of pictures throughout the book.