In The Rainforest

Magic School Bus

by Eva Moore, Joanna Cole, John Speirs (Illustrator)

When Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the rain forest to find out why her cocoa tree has stopped growing beans, the class learns important lessons about why trees get sick and what are the necessary steps to making them well once more. Original.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Picture Books, Education, Nonfiction, Geography, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Ashley]

FS:

LS:

[Daria Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was best book to based on this episode, "In the Rainforest."

[Amara Tanith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus in the Rain Forest is an adaptation of the Magic School Bus television episode "In the Rain Forest"... sort of. While much of the plot and even some of the dialogue is lifted straight out of that episode, the focus of the story and some key plot elements are changed.

The changes (such as who bought the cocoa tree for Ms. Frizzle and why, Inspector 47's plan to keep out the peccaries, and the general state of the rain forest itself) serve to shift the story's focus; in the episode version, the lesson's focus was the web of life and how the plants and animals in an ecosystem are all interconnected, while the picture book's lessons is on the rain forest itself.

Though fans of the television show--such as myself--may be vaguely annoyed to see an episode's plot appropriated to teach a different lesson, The Magic School Bus in the Rain Forest is a good way to teach a young child about rain forests. I would, however, definitely recommend complementing this with a viewing of the episode.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our girls love the Magic School Bus series and this book does not disappoint. Ms. Frizzle and the kids visit a South American rainforest to figure out why her cocoa tree isn't producing beans. They discover an environment that is not in balance and they must figure out how to fix it.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Figuring out which habitat has what can be confusing. This is a great resource to visually share what a rainforest holds for us to understand.

Topic: Rainforest, habitats
Grade: 1- 5

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches you about the rain forest and I liked how they figured out what was wrong with Ms Frizzle's cocoa tree.

[A Hoppy Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars