Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. Complete with wild hair and wacky wardrobe, Ms. Frizzle, last seen floating through the cosmos (The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System, [BKL N 15 90]), has returned, this time to conduct a fantastic tour into the deep blue sea. As in previous equally memorable adventures, she heads her eager class on a fact-finding mission they'll never forget. Comic relief comes in the form of dim-witted Lenny the Lifeguard, whose dogged determination to rescue the kids will elicit a giggle or two. Cole's straightforward text explains the main action while energetic (but never hectic), colorful doublespread pictures supply a wealth of detail: balloon dialogue picks up comments from the cartoonlike characters; and diagrams, labeled drawings, and class reports, scattered across the pages, supply facts about the ocean and its undersea life. A handy multiple-choice test follows the story, and what educator won't appreciate Ms. Frizzle's parting comment, "Ask at your library for more good books about oceans"? A perfect match of text and art, this is another first-class entry in a stellar series that makes science fascinating and fun. We eagerly await more trips on Ms. Frizzle's extraordinary bus. ~--Stephanie Zvirin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In her zany approach to science, Ms. Frizzle literally immerses her students in a sea of knowledge. Expecting a normal, end-of-the-year beach day, the class is shocked when ``the Friz'' drives the school bus through the parking lot, over the beach (with a quick lecture on the intertidal zone), and into the ocean depths. During this fanciful yet scientifically accurate romp, the bus appropriately metamorphoses into a submarine, a submersible, a glass-bottom boat, and--in a final flourish--a titanic surfboard. All the while, Ms. Frizzle's students (and Cole's readers) experience the wet wonders of potentially dry textbook subjects: where sand comes from, why oceans are salty, how fish breathe, the ``not-fish'' sea animals, underwater food chains, life in hot water vents and coral reefs. Weighty information is buoyantly supported by energetic, cartoony illustrations with bubbles of comical true-to-life kid-talk. Elementary readers will giggle at the side-story of Lenny, a lifeguard suffering delusions of heroism. Cole and Degen continue to hone their unique mix of humor, fact and sound teaching techniques. Like others in the series, this book will capture readers at school and at home. Ages 6-9. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-A diligent lifeguard tries to rescue Ms. Frizzle's class as she drives across the beach and continental shelf into deep waters. A whirlwind tour of the ocean floor and coral reefs ends with a surfboard ride to demonstrate wave action. Cartoon illustrations and fact-filled "class report" sidebars enliven another entertaining and informative field trip. Audio and DVD versions available from Scholastic. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
No class trip is ever ordinary with Ms. Frizzle and the magic school bus -- even one to the seashore. With Frizzle at the wheel, the students go not only to the beach but right into the ocean for a firsthand look at sea life. Comically captioned watercolors accompanied by sidebars containing school reports on the ocean and a funny yet informative text give readers a lighthearted but well-researched introduction to ocean ecology. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Exuding her usual air of competence, Ms. Frizzle drives the magic school bus to the beach, over the sand, and into the waves to take her wisecracking class on a tour of an intertidal zone, the continental shelf, the deep sea bottom, and a coral reef. Degen's paintings feature plenty of colorful (and unobtrusively labeled) sea life. As always, the pace is breathless, the facts well chosen, the excitement of scientific study neatly evoked, and Ms. Frizzle's wardrobe equal to every extraordinary occasion. At the end, her students assemble a bulletin board chart to summarize their observations and--apparently in response to adult anxieties--Cole closes with a quiz clarifying the difference between fact and fiction in the story. Yes, it's a formula, but a winning one. (Nonfiction. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
