The Magic School Bus Plays Ball: A Book About Forces

Magic School Bus TV Tie-Ins

by Joanna Cole, Art Ruiz (Illustrator), Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

Join Ms. Frizzle and the class as they explore the world of physics. The class learns about forces by playing a game of baseball in a world without friction.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, 2nd Grade, Childrens, Physics

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

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

[Sandy]

This is the last Magic School Bus book I will read. It was terrible. The shows are so cute and engaging and the books fall flat every time. If you are learning about Force, save yourself the frustration, skip this book, queue up the show and enjoy a cup of coffee while your children learn via a well done cartoon.

[Amy Balaich]

Picture book - I honestly did not think this was at all engaging in a book format. The video is fun, but the book has WAY too much text and is written out like a script, so it's boring to read.

[K Morlando]

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

[Bon Kim]

This book was fun. I learned about force and friction in a new and fun way.

[Kelly Chester]

What a great book very educational

[Dolly]

While this is not my favorite Magic School Bus book, it offers an interesting perspective on friction, gravity and the pulling and pushing forces which makes things move. It follows the typical format for this series and has some funny scenes that show the consequences of friction and friction-less surfaces. Our girls love these books and we read every one we can get our hands on.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister]

We love the Magic Schoolhouse books. This one's not my favorite but Little Miss and Legomeister love it.

[Tammie]

Gravity
Friction
energy
Push and pull
Gr2-6

[Keely]

This is a fantastic teaching book for forces, friction and gravity!