Book Review: Magic School Bus and the Science Fair Expedition
In The Magic School Bus and the Science Fair Expedition, written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, the Science Fair is days away and some of the kids in Ms. Frizzle’s class can’t think of a subject for the Fair. One of the students (Arnold, if you’re familiar with the series) suggests a trip to the new science museum. Since it’s an easy walk away, no crazy school bus is needed (if you haven’t read any of the other Magic School bus books, you’ll need to know that Ms. Frizzle and her old yellow school bus often take the class on unusual adventures).
But there’s no escaping the wiles of Ms. Frizzle and her bus. The kids are off through time to visit famous scientists, including Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Pasteur, Madame Curie and Einstein. Along the way they learn about the scientific method, how scientists build upon each others’ work and the hard work and commitment that goes into scientific discovery.
This is one of our favorite Magic School Bus books. By showing the process of discovery, young children see that the scientific knowledge that we have to today is because of the work of scientists of the past. For the child interested in science, it can be inspirational as they see adults who share their curiosity applying that interest and working to answer fundamental questions about our world.
For the skeptics in the audience, each Magic School Bus book ends with notes about the fantastical nature of the books. These explanations are always funny and set just the right tone for a the logician-child.
Like all the Magic School Bus books, this story has a lot of staying power. Both your 4-year-old and your 7-year-old will enjoy this book.
Be warned that these are not short reads, but can be broken into several sittings. It takes us about 30 minutes to read each book cover-to-cover.
Ages: 4+ (as noted in the other Magic School Bus reviews, Scholastic recommends these books for 7-10 year olds, but we know younger children who adore them)
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