Lost in the Solar System

The Magic School Bus #4

by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

On a special field trip in the magic school bus, Ms. Frizzle's class goes into outer space and visits each planet in the solar system.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Space, Nonfiction, Astronomy, School

40 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

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

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Frizzle and the class explore our solar system, planet by planet and through the asteroid belt. The book is educational, giving lots of information (I learned some things), but is a bit long for one sitting. We read it in two sittings.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, so a book that starts this conversation is GREAT!!

Sitting at traffic light in car, looking at the sunset:
5 yr old: Mommy did you know, the sun is a giant ball of gas?
Me: Why, yes it is...[thus ensues a conversation on the size of the sun compared to the earth, other planets in the solar system, etc.)

When I asked her if they were talking about the sun/solar system in preschool, she said no, she was reading about it in the Magic School Bus book.

Can I just say - AWESOME!!!! = )
Doesn't hurt that they also watch the MSB shows occasionally as well - good reinforcement of the topics.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.

And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?

[Kelly Kosinski]

The best books!!!

[Kaetlin V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System takes readers on an adventure with Ms. Frizzle and her class, this time, to outer space. Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip to each of the planets in the solar system in order to learn all about each of the planets. Growing up with The Magic School Bus, I was immediately excited to read this book. With its fun and detailed illustrations, I loved this picturebook because it provided information on the planets in the solar system in a fun way that is easily understood by children.

This picturebook’s point of view is first person point of view, throwing readers directly into the story. From the first page, readers see that “we are going to the planetarium to see a sky show about the solar system.” By this use of “we,” readers are dragged along for the adventure, into the solar system, and to explore the planets. The audience is directly learning as if they are part of Ms. Frizzle’s classroom. Cole’s style of this picturebook is very loose and young sounding like the children in Ms. Frizzle’s classroom. For example, when referring to Janet, Arnold’s know-it-all cousin, the text says, “we tried to be nice to Janet. We really did.” This furthers the idea that the audience is transported as a child in Ms. Frizzle’s classroom.

Degen utilizes many different dialogue bubbles throughout the picturebook to represent thoughts and speech. For example, about halfway into the picturebook, Arnold is depicted with a typical thought bubble thinking about how he has to go to the bathroom. Readers can use this to differentiate between thoughts and dialogue that would not have been made known without the bubbles. Degen also uses text boxes directly over the illustrations. For example, each text box is depicted as an essay from the children from Ms. Frizzle’s classroom about the solar system on notebook paper. Degen probably depicted it this way to get the factual information about the planets in the solar system in an interesting way that young children would want to read and understand.

As the informative nonfiction subgenre of nonfiction, The Magic School Bus has the subgenre of narrative nonfiction. Based on a fictional classroom and characters, it does provide factual information about a concept in the form of a narrative. We know that it is this genre because Ms. Frizzle and her classroom is not an actual person, but the information about the solar system is factual.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just loved the Magic School bus series! The class goes on a trip to the planetarium but it was closed. Suddenly the bus transforms itself into a rocket and takes off! Ms. Frizzle, not batting an eye, immediately started telling the kids about the sun and various planets as the bus went by each. The fictional storyline in this one is particularly strong with wisecracking kids and fun illustrations. I thought the weight/fortune scale on each planet was a wonderful touch. It is, of course, out of date, which is why I withdrew it from the library since Pluto is called a planet although the author did note it was a particularly iffy plant. I kept hoping Cole and Degen would update this but they never did. Oh well.

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has everything you expect from this series. The only downside is that some of the science is a bit outdated. My child was criticizing the idea that Pluto is a planet, so it may not entertain the kids of today as much as the kids of the 90s.

[Augie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the book because I like that they had to answer the questions and they had to figure out what planet it was.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to know why they changed so much in the television adaptation of this one because wow.

[Tonya Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author! Her books and the shows that have been produced out of them are awesome! Last summer at Explorers, we read this book during our week about Joanna Cole. This author does a great job of bringing fun into science!

Summary: Ms. Frizzle and her class learn about the solar system in the classroom, and find out that their field trip isn’t going to happen since the planetarium is closed. Ms. Frizzle once again decides to take her students on another wacky field trip to explore the solar system up close transforming the school bus into a rocket. The bus flies to the moon where they explore gravity, the sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. They discover the asteroids that make up the asteroid belt where the bus gets hit by an asteroid, which causes the bus to malfunction. Ms. Frizzle tries to fix the bus, but then is stranded and separated from the students. Janet looks through the Friz’s lesson and notes to read the information that the students need to know as they fly through the remaining planets. She then finds the instructions for autopilot, so they can go back and rescue the Friz. They then return to Earth and tell everyone about their trip.

Characteristics to Support Genre: This book is a science fiction and a fantasy book because it is based around a fictional story where the characters examine laws and theories of science on their field trip to space. It tells facts where students can learn about the planets, but also contains events that could never happen in real life. These books move the characters from a realistic setting to a fantasy one where buses can transform into rockets and helpful machines that help the students examine scientific concepts, laws, and facts.

Concepts Integrated: solar system, planets, story maps, plot, sequencing, guided reading, vocabulary

Other Suggestions that could be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated: 3-5 readers
Science: This is a great book to introduce the solar system to students. Joanna Cole gives children a close up view of the planets and what happens in the solar system. I had students model what the solar system looked like using students, which is a great visual for those kinesthetic learners. They represented planets and the sun in our solar system. I also like the idea that Scholastic has about having the students discuss gravity on the school playground: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/le...
Language Arts: Students could complete story maps and talk about the plot with rising action and falling action. They could also sequence the events of the story. There are also many vocabulary words that have to do with the solar system that students could create their own memory cards for words: solar system, orbit, asteroids, crater, atmosphere, gravity, solar energy, etc…
Art/Science: Students could create their own models of the solar system.

[Tiffany]

The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System is a book about Ms. Frizzle's class trip to the solar system. As they go through the different parts, Ms. Frizzle and class learn all about it. Their trip takes a turn to the strange side and they find themselves in an adventure that most people would never believe.

The book is accurate and authentic in conveying factual, documented material. There is a lot of factual information in the book. For example, there is a chart of the planets, how big across they are, how long one rotation is, how long one year is, how far from the sun it is, how many known moons there is and if they have rings. The information is presented in an organized way through the fact that the story is taking us through a virtual tour in the order they are traveling through space. The format and design of the book is most definitely appealing to children. The pictures are great. There is also little pieces of paper with children writing their homework assignments and such on. So, children can relate to the fact that children are actually learning about the stuff that they are reading about in the book. Therefore, this will be appealing to them. Lastly, the author's writing style is clear and genereates enthusiam for the topic. It's almost as if Joanna Cole has taken the role of the teaher, Ms. Frizzle, and is teaching the topic to her students. By also showing the students assignments throughout the book shows enthusiasm of the students learning and therefore displays the authors enthusiasm of the topic.

I have always liked the Magic School Bus books. I recieved one from my Kindergarten library teacher and was so excited because I really like them. This would be such a perfect book to read for children as a science lesson, Especially for younger children, since it is filled with pictures and simple language. I could read this to the classoom and we could have a week of things to do with all the topics it covers of the solar system.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Stukey
EDCI Author Study
Book Review

The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System
Background information, Joanne Cole is a well-known children’s book author. She has written myriad books in a variety of formats. From picture books to small short stories, she has done it all. She is famous for her Magic School Bus series. It even has its own television show. Miss. Frizzle is an icon in today’s modern classroom. But Miss. Frizzle was not the first fictional character that Cole developed. Cole first started publishing books in the early sixty’s. Her well known Magic School Bus series did not see bookshelves until the early nineties. One of her first books that was fully developed was called Wet Albert. Today we will be taking a closer look at The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System.
Description, a group of students sets out for a trip to their local planetarium. Once they arrive though, they find that it is unfortunately closed. Their crazy teacher comes to the rescue; she transforms the school bus into a space rocket that has the power to travel to all of the planets. The students visit each of the planets in order and learn about their main characteristics before they come back to Earth.
Conclusion, the book does not stray far from it cookie cutter predecessors, but this is a good thing, as the audience knows what to expect when they read a Magic School Bus book. The book is thoroughly entertaining; there is an interesting plot that keeps its readers engaged, while still teaching them about science. In conclusion, this would be a good book for any teacher to have in their classroom. Joanne Cole’s The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System is an A+ in any elementary classroom.

[Lauren Smeltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole is one of my favorite childhood books. There are tons of The Magic School Bus books that are great for young readers. One great aspect of this book is that it is a fun and easier informational book on our solar system and a description on each planet. I was astonished that this can be classified as a Informational text. One great reason to read this book is because it uses familiar words that students can understand. The book begins Arnold cousin comes to visit his class because her cousin does not believe that they go on their crazy adventures. All the children getting ready to a surprising a field trip to the planetarium. They load the bus and once they have arrive they find out that it is closed, and go back to the bus. Arnold cousin starts to mock him, saying that he has been lying, and that he does not go on these field trips! This made Arnold upset, so while waiting at a red light Arnold asked Mrs. Frizzle to go to something bigger. The bus suddenly turn in to a rocket ship shots for space. Unfortunately, the bus gets hits by an asteroid orbiting space. Mrs. Frizzle goes out to fix the bus but however gets lost in space and the children have to fly to each planet but also find Mrs. Frizzle. This book is amazing and truly helps identify the planets by the use of colors of each planet and how they start with the inner planets and then move to the outer. One interesting aspect is the graphics and artwork are used to enhance the text. Also the detail in the illustration is amazing.

[Marlena Jessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus books are a great addition to any book shelf. The wide variety of characters in Ms. Frizzle's classroom allow students to connect with or know someone that is like one of the characters. In this book, students were supposed to go to the local planetarium, but once they got there, it was closed. Arnold's cousin Janet was visiting for the day, and was constantly saying that her school was better, and that something like that would never happen. The class reassured her that Ms. Frizzle always had another plan, and soon the bus transformed into a rocket ship. Along the way. Ms. Frizzle get stranded in an astroid belt as she is trying to fix the autopilot on the bus, and the students have to figure out how to fly the bus themselves. They eventually make their way around the solar system, and pick up Ms. Frizzle on their way back to Earth.

I loved this book because each page had part of the story, facts about the solar system, vocabulary definitions, and a message from one of the students about something they were learning. The book is definitely for older readers in third or fourth grade because all the reading and side notes could be overwhelming for younger readers. The pictures take up the entire pages and interact with the text as well, making the book very engaging. If read aloud, this book could be for all grade levels because each book in the series serves as an introduction to a larger topic.

[Kamillah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my favorite book in The Magic School Bus series, Ms. Frizzle's class field trip to the planetarium turns into a trip through the solar system. In each Magic School Bus adventure, their faithful school bus transforms to take the class into the heart of their eccentric teacher's lesson plan. In this volume, their bus becomes a space shuttle, blasting into the solar system, where they journey to the moon, sun, through the asteroid belt where they lose Ms. Frizzle (!) and to each planet (and planetoid, in the case of Pluto, in this updated version of the book).

Each page includes expansive illustrations full of details and clever plays on words to amuse adults, along with school-themed notes with fun facts and diagrams sprinkled throughout the story. This is my favorite book in the series because I love the topic and it has more of a plot than the other books in the series. Ms. Cole writes timeless science books for kids (and adults) of all ages because she provides multi-layered stories, illustrations and information, which both give a lively introduction for those new to the subject and invite seasoned young scientists to return to the book again and again to find even more fun facts and hidden details.

[Vanessa Gomez RDG · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is apart of The Magic School Bus series. In this book, Ms. Frizzle takes the students into the Solar System. Ms. Frizzle gives them a tour of our Solar System. They visit the sun and Ms. Frizzle explains to her students that they cannot land on it because it is way too hot. She also takes them to the moon and the students learn about zero gravity in outer space. Then the trip continues to other planets like Mercury, Venus, and Mars. During the trip, Ms. Frizzle's line gets cut and drifts off into space. Later when the students return to the school, they find that Ms. Frizzle is already at the school waiting for them to return.

This book does not have a dust jacket. The tone of this book is very educational and happy. The students can learn a lot about the Solar System while reading this book. There is not much colors within this book. Mostly everything is in black and white, however, there is some color. When there is color, the colors are very bright. The text is everywhere on the page. It is boarded by lined paper. The only problem is there are multiple conversations within a single page. This can be very confusing to younger children to follow along. The appropriate audience for this book would be fourth to sixth grade.

[Katie Williams]

Fun and engaging as always, this book is a great introduction for learning about the solar system. It provides great vocabulary as well as definitions; there is also a video that goes along with the book which would be a good way to follow up any astrological lesson on our solar system. The book is based on the premise of the students going on a field trip to a planetarium that turns out to be closed, so they board the magic school bus and visit the actual solar system instead. A great and interactive activity would be to set up the classroom like the solar system using decorated foam balls that dangle from the ceiling and other various decoration necessities. Depending on the activity the teacher wanted to do they could choose to do specific parts of the solar system and continue this lesson throughout the week or more. For each planet, etc., they could engage in 10-15 minute activities. The teacher could act as their space guide as they walk through the classroom and discover different facts about the solar system and space. As a closing, students could fill out a big class chart as a whole about the various things they learned about each planetary body.

[Shelby Winstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Magic School Bus book is about the lovely Ms. Frizzle and her classroom field trip to the actual solar system. A guided tour, if you will, Ms. Frizzle helps her students learn all about the different parts of the solar system. As their trip takes a weird turn, the kids and Ms. Frizzle go on an adventure that is out of this world. Literally. The book does a great job in presenting the information about the solar system in a fun, yet still completely accurate way. The pictures of the different planets and objects in space are great and would definitely appeal to young readers. I think that it would be so fun to do a Magic School Bus fair, where students pair up and choose a book to present to the class. In terms of content areas though, this book would be excellent to use in a unit about the solar system, and is appropriate for grades 1-3. This is definitely a book that I will keep in my classroom library in the future, along with all of the other Magic School Bus collection! I love each and every one of them and the information they have to offer about different scientific topics.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus books are always a great way to get your student/child to read and enjoy non fiction. There are tons of facts about the solar system! How big planets are, how far away, what you'd weigh in space etc. However, this book does still have Pluto listed as a planet-that is the only thing I can say that is no longer correct. Ms. Frizzle starts with the inner planets and then moves to the outer planets, the sequence is easy to follow. The design of these books can be overwhelming to some readers. There are charts, graphs, speech bubbles, 'notes', and captions just to name a few text features. I would preview this book with the students and discuss what to read first and what would be the important parts to read. The writing is very fun to read. I enjoy being able to read the student's thoughts as they are flying through outer space. Also, the notebook pages on the outside of the page give students some fun facts about outer space. I would use this book during a unit on the solar system. When I am not doing a unit on the solar system I would have this book in my classroom library.

[Tots R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator) (Historical fiction)
The Magic School Bus series is one that all of my daycare children have enjoyed. This is a great book for introducing the solar system to young children. The story starts off with the children getting ready to go on a field trip to the planetarium. They load the bus and travel there only to find that it is closed! They start back to the school in the bus and while at a red light, the bus suddenly leans back and takes off! It becomes a rocket ship into space! The bus has changed into a rocket and the children are also suddenly wearing space suits and floating above their seats. The bus/rocket takes the class on a tour of the solar system. I recommend this book for children ages 3and up. This is a great book to use when teaching children about the different planets. I have a sensory box that I use when ready this book to my children. As the book talks about the different planets I have one of my children pull the planet out of the sensory box and tell me what they learned about that planet. This book has good illustrations for children to follow.

[Jeanne Kurt]

Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator) (Historical fiction)
The Magic School Bus series is one that all of my daycare children have enjoyed. This is a great book for introducing the solar system to young children. The story starts off with the children getting ready to go on a field trip to the planetarium. They load the bus and travel there only to find that it is closed! They start back to the school in the bus and while at a red light, the bus suddenly leans back and takes off! It becomes a rocket ship into space! The bus has changed into a rocket and the children are also suddenly wearing space suits and floating above their seats. The bus/rocket takes the class on a tour of the solar system. I recommend this book for children ages 3and up. This is a great book to use when teaching children about the different planets. I have a sensory box that I use when ready this book to my children. As the book talks about the different planets I have one of my children pull the planet out of the sensory box and tell me what they learned about that planet. This book has good illustrations for children to follow.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade/Interest Level: Primary/ Upper Elementary (2nd-4th)
Reading Level: Lexile, 480L
Genre: Picture Book, Informational Book

Main Characters: Ms. Frizzle and her class
Setting: Outer Space
POV: Third Person

Summary: Ms. Frizzle's class has a field trip to the planetarium, but finds out that it's closed for repairs. Ms. Frizzle, the teacher, saves the day by having a field trip to outer space instead. On the way, they stop at the sun and each planet to learn interesting facts. At one point, the students lose Ms. Frizzle and search for her. They find her in the asteroid belt and are able to return to Earth.

Classroom Uses/ Theme: The Magic School Bus books are fun and great for children because they are very factual going along with a storyline. As it has popular science series, these books will work with reading and science. If we were learning about the solar system and the planets, I would use this book and have them do a KWL Chart of what they already knew, wanted to know, and learned at the end after they read.

[Makayla Hubble · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing children's science fiction book! I loved reading “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System” by Joanna Cole, the story line was so fun and interesting to follow, plus there was so much factual information on the side of the story! Magic School Bus should be brought into all Elementary classrooms, they have so much to teach children. In this book, Ms. Frizzles class plans on going to the local planetarium to learn about the sky and solar system, the story takes a turn when the planetarium is closed! The magic school bus then turns into a spaceship takes them up into space, the students are now astronauts. They got to play on the moon, see Earth from afar, flew over the sun, drive through Venus’s yellow clouds, learned about Mar’s multiple moons and much more! They ended up losing Ms. Frizzle but end up reuniting with her in the asteroid belt. I also loved the “mini essays” that are on the outsides of each page. They included facts about the solar system and everything involved with it.

[Timothy Luken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great and informative picture book just as it should be. I enjoyed this series very much when I was growing up and still think this a very good series for kids.
The story is of course of Ms. Frizzle and her class traveling to outer space on their school bus and learning about the different planets in our solar system. However at one point they get lost and must find their way through the other planets and back to home. On the way they stop at all the terrestrial planets and swoop by the gas giants (since there is no surface to land on).
With the illustrations this picture book is second to none and help really catch the readers attention.
This would be a great book to use in a science lesson about the solar system. Kids could first learn about the solar system in class and then reinforce the lesson by reading this book.
I would recommend this for 1st and up because the book is a pretty easy read.

[Brigid Sullivan]

Most students are familiar with Ms. Frizzle and her class "field trips" to wild places. Many have seen the Magic School bus show on PBS or seen episodes in class. This particular book is one that I think is better as a book than the show. Other books (Magic School Bus Goes into the Human Body; Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor) are good to watch as a show because the movement adds to the visuals. For the planets, however, movement and video is not necessary. In this book, Ms. Frizzle and her class visit all 8 of the planets and their moons. Although the book was written in the 90s, most of the information is still relevant.
This would be a perfect book to use during a unit on the planets (4th grade). This book could also be used in a lesson about the purpose of books (to entertain, to inform). Students could fill out a KWL chart before, during and after reading. Students could also choose a planet and develop a short research project on one of the planets.

[Michelle Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost in the Solar System is a story about Ms. Frizzle's 4th grade class. Their planned fieldtrip to the planetarium was cancelled due to the closure. Ms. Frizzle and the bus decide to go outer space instead. They explore the moon, sun, asteroid belt, and planets. Somewhere along the way, Ms. Frizzle gets lost and the class must carry on the field trip to find her.

I enjoyed this book. This genre is mostly science fiction with elements of science fiction and comedy as well. The story had a big empahsis on science and learning facts about the solar system. There is text and pictures all over the pages. The text was mainly narrative from the characters.

Overall, I would give this book 4 stars because I liked the science fiction themes presented in this book. It gave a lot of information while still having a fun element. I took off 1 star because I felt that it is too chaotic to read and I often went out of order.

[Aaron Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun magic school bus book in which Ms Frizzle's class takes a trip to space. On their trip, the class learned many things about space. A few of the things they learn about are the order of the planets, the effect of less or more gravity on an object, and the various geographic features that can be observed on planets such as Mars. While this is a very content heavy book, it is still presented in a way that is fun and engaging for students to read and learn from. There are many activities that could be taken from this book and use in the classroom setting. You could ask students to create a model of a specific planet and it's observable features or you could ask them to write a narrative of their own imaginary field trip to space. They could be very creative in their responses and have some fun deciding what they would do.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are great books, but the series “The Magic School Bus” already has a certain vocabulary! My niece loves the stories this class experiences! The teacher is not standing at the blackboard explaining the topics in a boring way, but the class gets on the Magic School bus and experiences for themselves how things work, how the underwater world is, etc.! The children suddenly get floating heads and can breathe underwater, etc.! That's how things are experienced and my son loves the stories from the Magic School Bus!! But they are also really great, of all Marry Poppins!!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have strong memories of reading this under my ninja turtles comforter on my bottom bunk with a reading light. it was one of the first times i had ever used a reading light, and the entire thing felt so adventurous and romantic to younger me. it's one of my fondest reading memories.

my partner read this to me to help me fall asleep because i'm sick. i felt very safe & comforted & taken care of. this is now one of my fondest reading memories, too.

[Rain Misoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blast (get it?) to the past! A great children's book for anyone to enjoy!

To read my full review, click here.