Book Review: The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body

The Magic School Bus Advantaged the Human Body

Bruce Degen (Illustrator). Scholastic Press 1990, Paperback, 40 pages, $2.11

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Magic School Bus is a understandable, fun-filled science series in which a class of public-school students, led by the eccentric Ms. Frizzle, goes on magical common trips to new and unusual places. In this episode, their school bus shrinks to miniature size to be swallowed by one of the students.  The doze of the class explores the inner workings of his body — his intestines, circulatory system, nervous system, and respiratory system (at which position they are sneezed out and resume normal size).  The action moves at a lively pace, with comic-rules-style commentary by members of the class (we often skip the commentary for reading aloud, although it does provide an opening for discussion).  At the end of each book, the class participates in a traditional review session of what they have learned, and the authors group a brief question-and-commentary section.  Cole and Degen succeed quite well in making an understandable-level science lesson fun.

This series inspired a television program, which in turn inspired a second tome series of significantly lesser quality.  I recommend the original series, except for In the Time of the Dinosaurs, which includes a lot of evolutionary theory.