The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book About Food Chains

Magic School Bus TV Tie-Ins

by Joanna Cole, Carolyn Bracken (Illustrator)

A class trip to the beach becomes an underwater lesson about food chains when Arnold and Keesha are challenged to discover what a tuna fish sandwich and some smelly green pond scum have in common.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Picture Books, Nonfiction, School, Animals, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Jamie Mirano]

Whoops I forgot to switch back to Scarlett’s account 😂 but who doesn’t love some magic school bus?!

[Elizabeth Parker]

The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book About Food Chains
Cole, J. (2011). The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book About Food Chains. Scholastic.

Genre and Format: Picture book; informational fiction.

The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten follows Ms. Frizzle and her class as they explore food chains in a fun and adventurous way. The story teaches concepts such as producers, consumers, predators, and prey, helping young readers understand how energy flows through ecosystems while keeping them engaged with narrative and humor.

Format and Illustrations: The book features bright, dynamic illustrations typical of the Magic School Bus series, combining action-packed visuals with informative diagrams. Speech bubbles, labels, and interactive elements support comprehension and make scientific concepts accessible for early elementary students.

Content Area / Curriculum Tie-Ins:

Science: Food chains, ecosystems, producers and consumers, predator-prey relationships
- ELA: Narrative fiction with informational content, sequencing, character traits, cause and effect
- Social Studies: Environmental awareness, human impact on ecosystems
- Writing: Informational writing, “All About” books, creative storytelling based on science
- STEM: Observation, classification, systems thinking
- Social-Emotional Learning: Collaboration, curiosity, problem-solving

[Ms. McKelvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explores the food chain in the ocean. Like all Magic School Bus books, this would tie great into content or lessons about the topic. In this case, possibly a unit about animals, oceans or food chains. I feel that it could be used for a wide range of grades, just adapt conversations and extension activities based on level.
Some tie in activity ideas could be to create a food chain for other animals. As with any book in this series, there could be a cool STEAM activity that involved creating a design for the bus on either this trip or one of their own inventing.
Grades: 1-4

[Madison Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like all of the Magic School Bus series. I think that I would incorporate this book within my classroom to help introduce food chains, and then have each student make their own food chain whether it be in the ocean, or on land. I think that kids love these books because they can kind of relate to the students within the book. I hope that I can be as energetic and full of ideas like Ms. Frizzle.

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I guess they wrote a book series, made a TV show based on it, wrote new books based on the episodes, recreated the TV show with a hair straightener, added some 45-minute "movies." And we are consuming them all.

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Amanda Hegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and it would be a great way to introduce food chains into the classroom in a fun and exciting way.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good exploration of food chains. Kiddo liked it so much she started to list other food chains after we finished reading.

[Britt Guild · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Magic School Bus series as these informational books are a creative way to read about facts. My children like the series as well and learn something new without even knowing it. This specific book teaches the reader about the an ocean food chain and how animals in the ocean are connected. Two students, Arnold and Keesha, struggle to piece together how a tuna fish sandwich and green pond scum are connected, so Ms. Frizzle takes her students on a class trip to the beach and into the ocean. The pictures are clever and draw the reader into the story. I like the story line of this book, but Ms. Frizzle is a bit too awkward for me at times.

This would be an excellent book to incorporate into a science lesson when discussing the food chain and the interconnection of nature. I could read this book aloud as well as make sure the book is accessible for students in the classroom science library. When I change science topics throughout the school year, I will rotate specific books that emphasize the science concepts in order for students to have another resource to study the current science topics and engage in their own research. I would include this book along with many of The Magic School Bus series books in my lower elementary level classroom.

Students could do a prereading activity of quick writing where they write down what they already know about the subject before reading the book.

[Jtroby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus is a book series I've never read before. I remember the TV show when I was growing up, but I don't remember watching very many episodes. I just finished reading The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten. The book is about life cycles and food chains. In the book, two students forget their project and are thrust into a field trip at the beach. During their field trip, they learn about the food chain and are able to take what they saw on their trip and apply it to their project. The book is illustrated beautifully and the pictures really enhance what the text is stating on the page. If I taught a unit on food chains, I would use this book as a way to show students how different animals get their nutrients. I would use this book for upper elementary students and use it to read aloud to the students. I would have to stop and question the students to make sure they can connect sunlight, plants, and animals in the food chain. After reading the book, I would ask students to illustrate a food chain of their choice as a ticket out of the door. This book is a good introduction to the food chain and I would use this as a source to start the unit.

[Lauren Fogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Frizzle is an exceptional teacher. She teaches her lessons by having her students experiencing the concept as they learn. What could be better in learning the food chain than to actually be a part of that food chain? Mrs. Frizzle takes her class onto the magic school bus and they dive into the ocean to learn about the importance of the food chain and exactly how it works. Children will love the quirky Mrs. Frizzle and her outfits that match the unit she is teaching.

Bruce Degen illustrates the story with amazing drawings of the world under the sea and all the creatures that inhabit it. He shows how vast the ocean is with the contrasting sizes of the children inside the magic school bus which turns from surfboard to submarine.

The lexile for this series of books is 10L up to 1700L. Each series is targeted to different reading levels and all provide accurate and interesting information to readers of all ages. This was a favorite series of books when I was a child and it always made school fun for me as the class moved on to another unit/lesson.

[Anna J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book About Food Chains is a book in a series that is based off of the TV series The Magical School Bus. In each book (and episode) the students learn something new about the world around them through the Magic School Bus, which allows them to observe science in ways they normally would not be able to. In this particular picture book, Ms. Frizzle’s class goes on a field trip into the ocean to learn about food chains. They are shrunken to the size of fish by way of the Magic School Bus and able to explore food chain patterns in a firsthand experience. This series of books (and TV show) are an imaginative way for students to learn through a fictional plot about nonfiction elements of science. Scholastic recommends this book for children who are six to nine years old.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My generic review of the Magic School Bus books -

We really love the series. This book doesn't have all the cartoony dialouge asides that the earlier books have. There are maybe a comment or two per page instead of full conversations. Some people hate that; I think I prefer it. The page is less busy.

These books clearly explain a certain topic. There are often additional activities at the end of the book for further learning.

We read these for 'fun' during picture book time and we read them when learning about a certain subject.

Most of the books have movies which correspond. We've enjoyed those as well.

[Kendra Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten by Pat Relf and Patricia Relf, is about Ms. Frizzle’s class taking a field trip to the ocean. This book teaches students about the food chain.

The illustrations in this book are fun and colorful. The content in this book is very detailed but it is still easy enough for kids to be able to read and understand the material.

This book would be great to inspire a lesson where the students write down what have they had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The students will then break down what they ate and create a food web from it.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about food chains, primarily ocean food chains. Ms. Frizzle and the kids go on a field trip to the ocean and figure out the connection between green scum and tuna fish. It's funny and enlightening and you just can't beat a field trip with the Friz! Our girls love these Magic School Bus TV tie-in stories!

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Magic School Bus books. I've read quite a few over the years. Legomeister loved them a couple of years ago. He still checks them out sometimes, but he doesn't ask me to read them to him anymore. Now it's Little Miss who requests them.

They learn about food chains in the ocean, from phytoplankton to albacore tuna...

[Janice Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read for discussing food chains, beginning about 4th grade. The students will be able to use this book a a resource for an in-class project on food chains and food webs. I can use this book to have the students create a foldable, where they can draw a picture of an animal and write the relating term.

[Katie Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Frizzle takes her class on a field trip to the beach. Since it's the magic school bus, the class goes into the ocean to then learn about the food chain. They learn how pond scum can relate all the way to a tuna fish sandwich.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally fascinated Frank.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved every copy that I have read of the magic school bus collection. Exciting adventure while learning about how the food chain works.

[Rachel]

Who eats what?! Great book to teach about food webs and the food cycle.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

science supplement to add to the classroom library

[Karley]

A fun book to use when exploring the food chain or marine life. Children love the adventure given throughout the story. I would use this in upper elementary grades.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1 copy

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 15109 EN Nonfiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 3.2 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP

[Nicole (Stop Staring At My Books Jr.) Williams]

This book in new paperback cost $7.67, if used paperback it cost $0.01, on Amazon.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gordon: "I liked the part when the Magic School Bus turns into a dolphin. And when they get eaten by the whale."
7/26/14