Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-4. Ms. Frizzle's school has a new assistant principal, and he's in for the ride of his life when he hops on board the Magic School Bus to deliver a message to Ms. Frizzle. The class warns him not to touch the little green switch on the dashboard, but it is too late. The next thing they know, the bus is as small as a speck of dust, and a stiff breeze blows it into the eye of an unsuspecting police officer. The bus also travels through the ear of a little boy, the nose of a dog, and even Ms. Frizzle's mouth. Along the margins are snippets of information in the form of Frizzle Facts and excerpts from kids' school reports. Degen's clever illustrations are both humorous and informative, acting as excellent visual aids for little learners. This innovative series continues to educate youngsters in fun and creative ways. --Lauren Peterson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5When Ms. Frizzle drives away from school before receiving an important message, Mr. Wilde, the new assistant principal, hops behind the wheel of the Magic School Bus to catch her. The class jumps aboard, too, knowing full well that only the Friz can handle the bus. When Mr. Wilde flips a mysterious switch, the vehicle shrinks and lands in a police officer's eye, then a child's ear, a dog's nose, and, finally, Ms. Frizzle's mouth as she eats pizza with her mother ("We'd been chewed out by teachers before, but this was ridiculous"). The format is comfortably familiar with text boxes and dialogue balloons complementing the story. Degen's illustrations are just as exciting and exacting as usual. Another fun, fact-filled adventure in the series.Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. 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
(Primary) After nine fantastic voyages, it was inevitable that someone else at school would get behind the wheel of the Magic School Bus. In what is perhaps the best volume yet in the popular series, the new assistant principal, Mr. Wilde, jumps into the driver's seat as the class tries to catch up with Ms. Frizzle after school to relay an important message. Even though the children warn him against it, Mr. Wilde flips the mysterious green switch on the dashboard; to his surprise (but no one else's), the bus begins to shrink. No bigger than a speck of dust, the bus flies into the eye of a nearby human being, who just happens to be Ms. Frizzle herself. The children use their knowledge of human anatomy to guide Mr. Wilde and the bus out of their teacher's eye, where they land promptly inside a boy's ear. From there they move to a dog's nose and then (thanks to a sneeze) back to Ms. Frizzle's tongue via a slice of pizza she's eating at an outdoor caf+. Throughout their journey, the children explore the five senses by applying information culled from their school reports and by making lots of bad puns, as is typical with the books in this series. What makes this volume stand out is the added drama of a stranger learning the class secret, coupled with an intriguing story line: what does Ms. Frizzle do when she leaves school? Like most teachers, she engages in ordinary activities: shopping, meeting her mother for dinner, going for a spin in her bright yellow convertible. Unlike most teachers, she unknowingly takes her entire class along with her and joins them in their puns (""It takes a lot of nerve to go there!""). The book concludes with an award ceremony for Ms. Frizzle (""Most Field Trips"") and a rock band, led by Smellvis, singing ""The Song of What's Wrong."" And from the look on Mr. Wilde's face, it won't be his last trip on the Magic School Bus. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The way-off-road vehicle (The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field, 1997, etc.) tours the ears, eyes, nose, and skin when the assistant principal, Mr. Wilde, accidentally shrinks the school bus and the children on board, commandeering it to deliver a message to Ms. Frizzle. The vehicle plunges into the eye of a police officer, where the students explore the pupil, the cornea, the retina, and the optic nerve leading to the brain. Then it's on to other senses, via the ear of a small child, the nose of a dog, and the tongue of the Friz herself. Sidebars and captions add to the blizzard of information here; with a combination of plot, details, and jokes, the trip is anything but dull. The facts will certainly entice readers to learn more about the ways living creatures perceive the world. (Picture book. 6-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
