The Magic School Bus And The Electric Field Trip

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Scholastic is re-releasing the ten original Magic School Bus titles in paperback. With updated scientific information, the bestselling science series ever is back!

Small enough to squeeze through power lines, Ms. Frizzle's class learns how electric current travels through the town, lights up a light bulb, heats up a toaster, and runs an electric motor. Fans of the Magic School Bus won't be left behind by this simple and informative introduction to the generation and distribution of electricity.

Customer Reviews:

Watt a Positively Charged Exploration!

By Children's Book Review - November 1, 2004

It is more than obvious that Joanna Cole (author) and Bruce Degen (illustrator) had the time of their lives bringing this book to fruition. Penned in 1997, "The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip" is packaged to the bursting point with anything and everything that has to do with electricity. There's so much going on here that a simple one-sided scorecard just won't suffice upon delving into Ms. Frizzle's latest adventure. It is Cole and Degen's most action-packed and tightly-woven collaboration yet. One senses from just taking in the first few pages that author and illustrator poured every fiber of their being into the Friz's ninth science-related field trip for children.

Our story starts off with a bang when a surprise guest bounces into class, positively charged with energy. She looks to be the spitting-image of Ms. Frizzle, only much younger.

"Hello, Aunt Valerie," says the girl, kissing the Friz on the cheek.

"My niece, Dottie... read more

A Great Book!

By A Customer - April 5, 2000

This book is a great book to learn about electricity. My daughter wants me to read it to her over and over, and I have learned from it, too!

A Creative and Accessible Lesson in Electricity

By Shanna A. Gonzalez "eyelevelbooks.com" - October 22, 2009

This story begins with an ordinary public-school class who have an extraordinary teacher. On their field trip to an electric power plant, Ms. Frizzle, Mary Poppins-like, shrinks the class to the size of electrons and they magically travel through the plant and into power lines, through light bulbs and into everyday appliances. In the course of this journey, they learn how electricity is generated and used for different purposes. The story is told with creativity, humor, and a level of detail that is appropriate for the target audience.

Because the topic of electricity is more complex than some of the other Magic School Bus topics, it may be better to read aloud all the sidebar text and conversations, not just the primary narrative text. Introduction of this slightly more advanced book may need to wait a year or so later than other books in the series. As I've said before, I recommend only the original books in this series, not the derivative ones based on the TV program.