Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-5. As in the Ancient Egypt (2001), this amusing, informative, large-format entry in the Ms. Frizzle's Adventures series follows Ms. Frizzle on a time-travel trip into history. She and her student Arnold find themselves in a twelfth-century English castle with barely time for a tour before an invading army attacks. There's plenty of action and comic byplay, but along the way children will learn a good deal about the purpose of castles, their structure, their history, and the social roles of those who lived in and around them. The pictures are brightly colored and the graphic design is reminiscent of comic books, with small panels and speech balloons in addition to narrative text and larger illustrations. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Everyone's favorite teacher from the Magic School Bus leads a host of new titles that educate and entertain. In the second entry in a new historical series (the first was Ancient Egypt), Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle by Joanna Cole, illus. by Bruce Degen, the wacky instructor whisks reluctant student Arnold back in time to a 12th-century English castle. Humor peppers historical details as they learn about life within the castle-and withstand a siege. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-One Saturday morning, Ms. Frizzle runs into one of her students, Arnold, at Craig's Castle Shop. They find themselves traveling back to medieval times, checking out life in a castle. The story mixes adventure with humor, fact with fiction. Cartoon illustrations, as usual, are awash with action and scenery. The busy layout includes large-type narration in white rectangles, pale yellow dialogue bubbles, and fact boxes. Kids will appreciate the funny asides, particularly Arnold's thoughts on his teacher-"Not my teacher! It's Saturday!" Although most of the facts can be found elsewhere, the presentation will be a draw for the many Frizzle devotees. Although the book has a larger format than the "Magic School Bus" series (Scholastic), it will attract the same audience. Even the endpapers have a spiffy spin on heraldry, with coats of arms depicting the teacher, her student, and their friends. Bus or no bus, there's no denying the Frizzle magic.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (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
Ms. Frizzle and Arnold (of Magic School Bus fame) travel back in time to a medieval castle where they find themselves part of a siege. Cole includes a lot of information, but the oversize book lacks the liveliness and much of the humor of the original series. The detailed illustrations feature a stronger line and darker colors. Readers will enjoy the absurdity of the situation and will absorb information painlessly. From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (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
Not content with her rollicking science adventures in the Magic School Bus, Ms. Frizzle continues her explorations of history begun in Ancient Egypt. One Saturday she spots her student Arnold going to Craig's Castle Shop, and leads him, the shop owner, and a costume designer into the distant, medieval past. Borders of the bright, word-ballooned pictures fill in the narrative with definitions and descriptions, while knights lay siege, ladies run the castle, and Arnold (camouflaged as a rose bush) gets to smuggle a letter out to Lord Robert. Besides the usual high and low humor and action-packed information, an end page of notes, "Don't believe everything you read!" fills kids in on what's made up and what needs a little more detail. There cannot be too many castle books, and her many fans will be pleased to see Ms. Frizzle explore new, and old worlds. Next stop: Ancient China. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
