The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System

Title: The Magic School Bus; Lost in the Solar System
Author: Joanna Cole
Genre: Modern Fantasy

When Mrs. Frizzle's class arrives at the Planetarium for a field trip, they discover that it is closed for repairs- but of course in Mrs. Frizzle's classroom, this will not be tolerated. Instead, the class is zoomed off into space itself after the Magic School Bus transforms into its very own rocket. Mrs. Frizzle and the gang travel from planet to planet, from the planet closest to the sun to the farthest. However, on their journey from Mars to Jupiter, an asteroid shower causes the class to unexpectedly separate from Mrs. Frizzle. The class continues on in their tour of the planets in hopes of eventually finding Mrs. Frizzle along their way. After viewing the last planet, the kids eventually figure out how to direct the Magic School Bus back to where they had originally lost track of Mrs. Frizzle, and they are reunited. They all then gladly return back to school, with the wealth of knowledge that they gained from their adventurous trip to space.

This book is an excellent choice for students who are studying the solar system, particularly those in the third grade as it is a standard course of study objective. The book is filled with interesting side notes and tables that are scattered throughout the pictures. There is also comical dialogue bubbles coming from the characters mouths in the illustrations, which makes the book that much more enjoyable for readers. The Magic School Bus was also a syndicated TV show on PBS for some time, and was a favorite show that I enjoyed watching on Saturday mornings. It was very enjoyable for me to see one of my favorite TV shows as a child translated into an engaging text.