Scholastic's The magic school bus kicks up a storm: Coloring and activity book

Magic School Bus TV Tie-Ins

by Joanna Cole (Series Creator), Jane B. Mason

Coloring and Activity Book from an episode of the animated TV series produced by Scholastic Productions, Inc. Based on the Magic School Bus books written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen

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

24 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

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

[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.

[Katharine Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus series, is a children's informational book series, that has been adapted to a children's television series. This book was written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. These books take children on an adventure with a teacher, Ms. Frizzle, sometime referred to by the student's in the fictional books as "The Friz". Ms. Frizzle, who is often seen wearing crazy outfits depending on what lesson the students will learn, takes the children on field trips all over, in a magical bus that transforms into whatever type of transportation they need. Sometimes the bus flies in the air, or shrinks to fit into small spaces to show the students something they would not be able to see without the magical bus. This is a way to bring kids into the action, as opposed to just simply telling them about a certain topic. The books go through many different areas of information, and this one in particular was about storms and weather. It begins with students in a classroom; which is decorated with many different creative contraptions and fun pictures; who all complain that the weather is extremely hot. One student is working on a weather machine for his science project, and this sparks the idea of weather. The kids begin to discuss weather, and how they would like to change the weather to a more comfortable climate. One student comes up with the idea that a thunderstorm would significantly change the climate and make them more comfortable. A student named Ralphie decides that he would like to be a superhero, called the weatherman. With this, Ms. Frizzle brings him into a discussion with the class about weather, and the students get into a heated discussion about what they know about the weather. Some students claim weather is the air, and some claim weather is the rain. This is when their teacher tells them they are going on a field trip, on the bus that they decide looks like “a weird weather machine”(page 7). Ralphie, aka the weatherman gets to drive this crazy bus, and soon they are airborne. The magic school bus also allows the students to do certain things, in this case, fly. As they go through the air, different students make different observations, using weather words, and teaching the reader about weather without simply stating facts. This way, kids can learn from “other kids” and they can make connections to their own observations about the weather. The bus changes into different things on their adventure, such as a seltzer bottle, for rain, and other different things to represent different weather patterns. They end up creating a thunderstorm and going right through it, learning all about why and how rain and winds come about. A character named Arnold, is the more reluctant traveler, and is always very practical in the series, so he sometimes interjects with lectures about safety, and the book has pictures that show what he is saying. He takes a moment to explain how to be safe during storms, and reiterates what they have learned through exploration. There are some pages that are an overview of what they have learned, with pictures to present what is being said. These pictures are drawn on what looks to be regular paper, and reinforces what the bus is doing, and what they are learning with a more formal approach. This usually restates the main ideas and can help kids understand what the class is learning about. They eventually go high enough in the air, that they see snow flakes, and discuss why the air is different at different altitudes. The book ends with a tie in to the beginning, with each student floating on a snow flake which falls at a rapid rate to the ground and becomes rain. They all wind up falling right into the science project, which is a rain collector, and end up safely back in the classroom, where they discuss what they had learned. These books use many strategies to keep information interesting for children but they also do a good job of making sure the information is understandable and reinforced with pictures and situations the children get into. The characters talk to one another, and children can see the thought process of each idea, which can help them to understand how they have come to the conclusions they have come to. The information in this book is not stated, but learned by the students of Ms. Frizzle’s class, and ultimately, the reader. These books are perfect for research projects for young students, and would also be helpful when discussing certain topics that may be tricky to cover in the classroom. I would absolutely use these books in a younger aged classroom, and they are even fun for me to read! It uses real weather terms, and real weather situations to present materials that may not be interesting in other ways to children. It has characters that are relate able to children, and a lovable teacher, who always has interesting field trips for the students to take. Students can always find something that would interest them, either the characters, the illustrations, the dialogue, or even the information. These books take you on a magical journey through things that students may or may not be interested in; but when they are done with these books, I can honestly say I believe they would want to know even more than what is presented. There is humor, and important details all within a fun and easy to read book. The children work together to explore a topic, and learn through exploration, which is so important especially with young children. An example of this from the book, is when they turn into raindrops, and Ms. Frizzle tells them to come together, to form a cloud. This helps students visualize how clouds are formed, without being told. I love these books, and will use them any way I can when I become a teacher.

[Madison Lakey]

One hot muggy day, a new superhero appears in Ms. Frizzle's classroom — it's Weatherman! Actually, it's only Ralphie pretending he has superpowers and can make a huge thunderstorm that would cool things off fast. The kids think Ralphie has flipped out, but Ms. Frizzle is excited about the idea of making weather. Time for a field trip in the Magic School Bus! The bus becomes a flying weather station and takes the class right into the storm clouds. As if that isn't scary enough, the Friz turns over the controls to superhero Weatherman! This book could be used in a classroom to talk about things like weather or even clouds. I remember in science I learned about clouds and what different clouds meant for the weather to come. The class could also talk about different types of storms or even dive into a talking a little about weather patterns.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book in the Magic School Bus TV tie-in series about weather. It has an exciting story, but also does a good job of discussing what makes our weather and the difference of what is happening high up in the sky versus what is happening down on the ground. It also offers safety tips about what to do in a thunderstorm and how to tell how far away a thunderstorm is from where you are. Our girls just love these books!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book, informational book
Cute story about what happens to make weather happen. The children will enjoy the silly events, but also really learn about what happens with weather. The illustrations help to give the reader information they need as well as make the story easy to follow. Children will about the weather, but also how to stay safe in dangerous weather, This is a great book to help children understand this topic and be entertained at the same time.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 3 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.

This is one of the more silly stories, but it's kind of fun.

[Nancy Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date I completed reading the book: 11-11-20

My star rating (1 to 5): ****

The date: 11-23-20

Genre: Nonfiction, Science

Grade range: 1-2

Book review: I read this book while studying weather in my class! My class really enjoys The Magic School Bus series! These books makes science come to life!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic School Bus is well loved for a reason. They get kids interested in a science topic and set or activate a little bit of background knowledge. This particular book is about weather, it’s probably not my favorite topic but still fun. Ralphie creates a Super hero persona of “Weatherman” and the kids learn about the three elements of weather/weather events-water, air, and heat.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids like these... it's a good overview of basic science principles.

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, a cute story while learning real science facts! Mom highly approves!

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus Kicks Up A Storm: A Book About Weather
Cole, Joanna
science supplementary material for the classroom.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

We usually love magic school bus--but this one STINKS! It's hard to follow and you get very little science out of it. Blah

[BookeryBliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic School Bus books are educational in a cute and fun way. My kids get hooked on them over and over again.

[Krisz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, maybe too difficult for my pre-schooler, but we had a nice discussion about weather anyway.

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love the Magic School Bus series. These books are so informative and visually appealing for readers of all ages.

[Danny Mcalister · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed this one as well 10 out 10

[Erienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Lu's Weather unit