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The Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books #9
Dinosaur Detectives
In Magic School Bus chapter book #9, Ms Frizzle and the gang find out they must become Dinosaur Detectives at the Museum of Natural History.
Ms Frizzles and the gang just want to study dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. But by mistake, they end up traveling through time to the actual Mesozoic era and come face to face with real meat-eaters! Yikes! They learn about the differences between all kinds of dinosaurs and the different eras these creatures roamed to earth. Don't miss their exciting chase with a T-Rex and their race to get back home! Read how the Magic School bus kids become real Dinosaur Detectives.
Ms Frizzles and the gang just want to study dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. But by mistake, they end up traveling through time to the actual Mesozoic era and come face to face with real meat-eaters! Yikes! They learn about the differences between all kinds of dinosaurs and the different eras these creatures roamed to earth. Don't miss their exciting chase with a T-Rex and their race to get back home! Read how the Magic School bus kids become real Dinosaur Detectives.
84 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 24, 2018
Magic School Bus stories are always fun and Dinosaur Detectives does not disappoint. It’s packed with information (some slightly out of date) and jokes kids will love. I recommend this book to any kid interested in dinosaurs.
July 5, 2021
Here we go again ( www.amazon.com/review/RZZ4R6IK9VL5N/r... ): 1/5
Short version: If you want a good "Magic School Bus" dino book, get Cole's "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs" & read it in conjunction with other, more recent books (E.g. Holtz's "Dinosaurs").* All other "Magic School Bus" dino books should be avoided, especially Stamper's "Dinosaur Detectives (The Magic School Bus Science Chapter Book #9)" (henceforth DD).
Long version: Read on.
I wasn't expecting DD to be even worse than Schwabacher's "The Magic School Bus Flies with the Dinosaurs" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3492121242 ), especially given Holtz's involvement, but in some ways, it is. In this review, I list those ways.
1) DD is even worse in terms of the characters & story. At least with Schwabacher's book, one could argue that 1) the characters act more like they do in Cole's book than they do in the show, & 2) the story is short. Unfortunately, DD is basically a worse version of the show:
-In reference to the characters, this is especially apparent in Ms. Frizzle (who acts more like a normal teacher than the wacky, zany character I know/love), Liz (who acts more like a normal pet than the humanly-sentient character I know/love), Arnold (who acts more like a Flanderized version of the relatable character I know/love, so basically, himself in "The Magic School Bus Rides Again"), & Ralphie: Like each episode of the show, each of Stamper's books focuses on 1 character; In DD, that's Ralphie, who acts more like Carlos does in the show than he does in the show (I.e. He tells more bad jokes & laughs at more of Carlos's bad jokes); See reasons #1 & 3 in my review of the show for why "The Magic School Bus" should never focus on Carlos-type characters ( www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/Rev... ).
-In reference to the story, this is especially apparent in 2 major ways: 1) It's more character-driven in DD than it is in Cole's book (which is bad because the characters range from bland to awful); 2) It's filled with so much dialogue that DD reads more like a script than a book (which is bad because the dialogue is poorly written).
2) DD is similarly hit-&-miss in terms of getting the facts straight. This is especially apparent in the sidebars because the misses stick out more with less text (E.g. See all 3 Stamper quotes, especially the 1st one; Dino eggs didn't just hold the baby & a yolk, "big plant eaters" didn't lay the biggest eggs, & sauropods typically didn't lay eggs of that shape & size).
3) DD is even worse in terms of writing (which is saying a lot):
-It's annoyingly cobbled together from different parts of Cole's book (E.g. See the 1st & 2nd Stamper quotes).
-It's annoyingly redundant (E.g. 1st, in the main text, D.A. says, "They're extinct. That means not one member of their species is still alive"; Then, in her report on the same page, she says, "Dinosaurs are extinct. Not one of their kind is still alive").
-It's annoyingly simplified (E.g. 1st, see the 2nd Stamper quote; Then, see reason #1 in my review of Schwabacher's book).
-It's annoyingly weird (E.g. See the 3rd Stamper quote; Why "a" Plateosaurus?; & why did it stand "long"?; Why the "also"?).
4) DD is even worse in terms of art (which, again, is saying a lot):
-It's annoyingly contradictory with the text (E.g. According to the text, the baby Diplodocus are green; According to the cover art, they're not).
-It's annoyingly contradictory with itself (I.e. Some of the life reconstructions are based on those in the show, others are tracings of those in Cole's book, & still others are original).
-It's annoyingly outdated/abominable: In reference to outdated, this is especially apparent in the un-feathered Troodon (Quoting Holtz: "Depicting a Troodon or a Velociraptor without feathers[...]would simply be antiscientific"); In reference to abominable, this is especially apparent in Enik's multi-species scenes (which, stylistically, look like they're from "A Sloppy Art Coloring Book"); Worse still, they're inconsistently abominable (I.e. The same dinos look more realistic in some scenes & more cartoony in others); In reference to both, this is especially apparent when comparing Enik's baby Diplodocus on the cover of DD to Mick Ellison's mostly-accurate baby Diplodocus from around the same time ( https://paleoaerie.org/2013/11/07/day... ).
*For an even better version of Cole's book, see Howard's "Dinosaur Empire!" (which I reviewed: www.goodreads.com/review/show/4095195260 ).
Quoting Stamper (who cobbled this together from Amanda Jane's "WHAT WERE SAUROPODS?" & Molly's "HOW BIG WERE DINOSAUR EGGS?"): "Dinosaurs Laid Eggs by Wanda
Baby dinosaurs hatched from eggs. Dinosaur eggs held the baby animal and a yolk. The yolk was the animal's food until it hatched.
Big plant eaters laid the biggest eggs. Sauropods were heavy, long-necked plant eaters, and they laid football-shaped eggs. Their eggs were 1 foot long and 10 inches wide!"
Quoting Stamper (who cobbled this together from the main text & Carmen's "HOW A DEAD DINOSAUR COULD BECOME A FOSSIL"): "How Fossils Form by Tim
A fossil is created when an animal or plant dies and is buried in the ground. Over time, the hard parts of the animal, such as bones and teeth, are preserved by surrounding minerals. These hard parts turn into rock and become a fossil."
Quoting Stamper: "Dino Data File
A Plateosaurus was one of the first long-necked plant eaters in the Triassic Period. It stood 27 feet long and weighed 1,500 pounds. It could also rear up and use its hands to pull leaves off trees.
Fun Fact: Plateosaurus had weak teeth. These weren't much help against large predators. Its large thumb claw was its best defense!"
Short version: If you want a good "Magic School Bus" dino book, get Cole's "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs" & read it in conjunction with other, more recent books (E.g. Holtz's "Dinosaurs").* All other "Magic School Bus" dino books should be avoided, especially Stamper's "Dinosaur Detectives (The Magic School Bus Science Chapter Book #9)" (henceforth DD).
Long version: Read on.
I wasn't expecting DD to be even worse than Schwabacher's "The Magic School Bus Flies with the Dinosaurs" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3492121242 ), especially given Holtz's involvement, but in some ways, it is. In this review, I list those ways.
1) DD is even worse in terms of the characters & story. At least with Schwabacher's book, one could argue that 1) the characters act more like they do in Cole's book than they do in the show, & 2) the story is short. Unfortunately, DD is basically a worse version of the show:
-In reference to the characters, this is especially apparent in Ms. Frizzle (who acts more like a normal teacher than the wacky, zany character I know/love), Liz (who acts more like a normal pet than the humanly-sentient character I know/love), Arnold (who acts more like a Flanderized version of the relatable character I know/love, so basically, himself in "The Magic School Bus Rides Again"), & Ralphie: Like each episode of the show, each of Stamper's books focuses on 1 character; In DD, that's Ralphie, who acts more like Carlos does in the show than he does in the show (I.e. He tells more bad jokes & laughs at more of Carlos's bad jokes); See reasons #1 & 3 in my review of the show for why "The Magic School Bus" should never focus on Carlos-type characters ( www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/Rev... ).
-In reference to the story, this is especially apparent in 2 major ways: 1) It's more character-driven in DD than it is in Cole's book (which is bad because the characters range from bland to awful); 2) It's filled with so much dialogue that DD reads more like a script than a book (which is bad because the dialogue is poorly written).
2) DD is similarly hit-&-miss in terms of getting the facts straight. This is especially apparent in the sidebars because the misses stick out more with less text (E.g. See all 3 Stamper quotes, especially the 1st one; Dino eggs didn't just hold the baby & a yolk, "big plant eaters" didn't lay the biggest eggs, & sauropods typically didn't lay eggs of that shape & size).
3) DD is even worse in terms of writing (which is saying a lot):
-It's annoyingly cobbled together from different parts of Cole's book (E.g. See the 1st & 2nd Stamper quotes).
-It's annoyingly redundant (E.g. 1st, in the main text, D.A. says, "They're extinct. That means not one member of their species is still alive"; Then, in her report on the same page, she says, "Dinosaurs are extinct. Not one of their kind is still alive").
-It's annoyingly simplified (E.g. 1st, see the 2nd Stamper quote; Then, see reason #1 in my review of Schwabacher's book).
-It's annoyingly weird (E.g. See the 3rd Stamper quote; Why "a" Plateosaurus?; & why did it stand "long"?; Why the "also"?).
4) DD is even worse in terms of art (which, again, is saying a lot):
-It's annoyingly contradictory with the text (E.g. According to the text, the baby Diplodocus are green; According to the cover art, they're not).
-It's annoyingly contradictory with itself (I.e. Some of the life reconstructions are based on those in the show, others are tracings of those in Cole's book, & still others are original).
-It's annoyingly outdated/abominable: In reference to outdated, this is especially apparent in the un-feathered Troodon (Quoting Holtz: "Depicting a Troodon or a Velociraptor without feathers[...]would simply be antiscientific"); In reference to abominable, this is especially apparent in Enik's multi-species scenes (which, stylistically, look like they're from "A Sloppy Art Coloring Book"); Worse still, they're inconsistently abominable (I.e. The same dinos look more realistic in some scenes & more cartoony in others); In reference to both, this is especially apparent when comparing Enik's baby Diplodocus on the cover of DD to Mick Ellison's mostly-accurate baby Diplodocus from around the same time ( https://paleoaerie.org/2013/11/07/day... ).
*For an even better version of Cole's book, see Howard's "Dinosaur Empire!" (which I reviewed: www.goodreads.com/review/show/4095195260 ).
Quoting Stamper (who cobbled this together from Amanda Jane's "WHAT WERE SAUROPODS?" & Molly's "HOW BIG WERE DINOSAUR EGGS?"): "Dinosaurs Laid Eggs by Wanda
Baby dinosaurs hatched from eggs. Dinosaur eggs held the baby animal and a yolk. The yolk was the animal's food until it hatched.
Big plant eaters laid the biggest eggs. Sauropods were heavy, long-necked plant eaters, and they laid football-shaped eggs. Their eggs were 1 foot long and 10 inches wide!"
Quoting Stamper (who cobbled this together from the main text & Carmen's "HOW A DEAD DINOSAUR COULD BECOME A FOSSIL"): "How Fossils Form by Tim
A fossil is created when an animal or plant dies and is buried in the ground. Over time, the hard parts of the animal, such as bones and teeth, are preserved by surrounding minerals. These hard parts turn into rock and become a fossil."
Quoting Stamper: "Dino Data File
A Plateosaurus was one of the first long-necked plant eaters in the Triassic Period. It stood 27 feet long and weighed 1,500 pounds. It could also rear up and use its hands to pull leaves off trees.
Fun Fact: Plateosaurus had weak teeth. These weren't much help against large predators. Its large thumb claw was its best defense!"
March 6, 2018
A fun romp through the time of the dinosaurs - my son loved it!
February 11, 2020
It was a very interesting book. I learned about how dinosaurs live and move.
April 30, 2021
When one of Ms. Frizzle's students, Ralphie, finds out his grandfather was a dinosaur detective he becomes so excited. He also found a dinosaur tooth in some of his families old stuff and brings it to school to show the class. Ms. Frizzle decides they should go to the museum to bring the dinosaur tooth over, but along the way they make a few stops. Ms. Frizzle and the class go on a time hopping adventure where they go through the different time periods of dinosaurs. As they go through they try to find a match to Ralphie's dinosaur tooth. Eventually, after a lot of close dinosaur encounters and searching they find the perfect match to Ralphie's dinosaur tooth. They eventually make it back to the present and bring the tooth in to the museum to donate it to them.
This book is awesome for students who are looking for something more then picture books. This book has short chapters and is great for beginner chapter book readers. It also has a couple of picture pages to lighten the mood and capture us in the story. This book is nothing short of fabulous and adventurous, just like all of Ms. Frizzle's other adventures. These series is truly one of my favorites and will be a definite read in my future classroom.
This book is awesome for students who are looking for something more then picture books. This book has short chapters and is great for beginner chapter book readers. It also has a couple of picture pages to lighten the mood and capture us in the story. This book is nothing short of fabulous and adventurous, just like all of Ms. Frizzle's other adventures. These series is truly one of my favorites and will be a definite read in my future classroom.
April 15, 2026
You can’t go wrong with The Magic School Bus! In this one, Ms. Frizzle takes the class back to the age of dinosaurs to find out what happened to some missing bones. It’s got that classic mix of science facts and "the bus is doing something impossible again" chaos that makes these books so nostalgic and fun. From a teaching perspective, these chapter books are such a goldmine for that period where kids are moving away from picture books, but aren't quite ready yet for huge novels. The science is incorporated into the plot so naturally that they’re learning about paleontology without even realizing it. I’d definitely keep the whole series in my classroom library because they’re perfect for independent reading or even as an accessory for a science unit.
October 22, 2025
I got this for my nephew and read it before I gave it to him to make sure there isn’t anything in it that wouldn’t be great for his age.
I’m disappointed in this book. The sections with the facts just repeat what is included in the text. I read a Magic School Bus picture book the other day that was way more jam packed with info and fun facts. I also didn’t like the use of the word “dumb” (or stupid, can’t remember which it was) when talking about the dinos with lower EQ.
There are also multiple scenes of dinos hunting other dinos and killing them for food. Makes sense, but just something to keep in mind.
I’m disappointed in this book. The sections with the facts just repeat what is included in the text. I read a Magic School Bus picture book the other day that was way more jam packed with info and fun facts. I also didn’t like the use of the word “dumb” (or stupid, can’t remember which it was) when talking about the dinos with lower EQ.
There are also multiple scenes of dinos hunting other dinos and killing them for food. Makes sense, but just something to keep in mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2025
Detective Dinosaur is a funny and engaging early reader that turns simple mysteries into laugh-out-loud adventures. Its lighthearted storytelling and charming illustrations make it perfect for young kids just starting to read on their own.
September 24, 2017
I think the book is for younger kids because the kids were learning about all the periods and dinosaurs and I learned that stuff a long time ago. However, this book is very educational.
February 4, 2018
My kids love these, but I really don't enjoy reading these books to them. I think they are great for kids to read on their own when they are starting to read chapter books.
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January 21, 2024It’s mega sus…
August 7, 2019
The book is very terrific.
September 26, 2011
We've read all of the Magic School Bus picture-books that we can find and now we're working our way through the chapter books, too. We just love the Friz and her class; the characters feel like old friends to us.
This story takes us to the age of the dinosaurs. It has a lot of factual information about the different dinosaurs that lived during different periods of time. There's a lot of excitement and danger in this tale and we enjoyed reading it together.
This story takes us to the age of the dinosaurs. It has a lot of factual information about the different dinosaurs that lived during different periods of time. There's a lot of excitement and danger in this tale and we enjoyed reading it together.
July 24, 2011
Dinosaur Detectives (The Magic School Bus Chapter Book, #9)
by Judith Bauer Stamper
This book is a science supplement to add to the classroom library. That is connected to the tv series, allowing kids to learn more about the story, and science.
August 11, 2013
Always a good teaching tool but not alway effective for just reading, Magic School Bus sometimes takes too much time to stop the story and give information. All the sidebars can also be distracting, but elementary teachers seem to love the books anyway and I suppose the kids do too.
October 13, 2009
i want to go into to this book becuse i dinosaurs.
February 11, 2011
I read this book as a second grade readaloud before the students begin a research project on dinosaurs. I like it because it has a nice mix of adventure and facts for the students.
February 23, 2012
it was cool it had heaps of facts like the big plant eaters plants eggs are the same size as a football and its funny when phoebe plays with the tiny dinosaurs. :) a very good book hope u like it.
January 31, 2014
"My favorite part was Liz, the crazy lizard, rescued Ralphie from the giant dinosaur."
September 6, 2014
It was a fun way of learning more about dinosaurs. I read it to my 5 year old, and while some of the information was advanced for her, I liked the pairing of fiction and non-fiction.
May 20, 2015
Review by 5yo: I learned that you should stay away from some dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are real but not alive anymore. Are dinosaurs dead? Yes. Are dinosaurs alive? No.
May 21, 2015
This book is all about dinosaurs. A great book for Dino lovers! I loved this book anyone can read it!!!!
April 12, 2018
5 stars
Dinos are always fun!
Dinos are always fun!
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January 21, 2016510L
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January 3, 2019First book of 2019 :)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews