The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs (Paperback)

by Joanna Cole (Author), Bruce Degen (Illustrator) "Suddenly, Ms. Frizzle said, "Please pay attention, children..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Readers eager to hop aboard Ms. Frizzle's bus for another junket will not be disappointed by this latest expedition. It's visitor's day at school and the students have turned the classroom into Dinosaur Land, but the impulsive teacher nevertheless announces a dinosaur dig, and the class piles onto the magic school bus. At the site, paleontologists have uncovered the bones of some Maiasaura dinosaurs, but are disappointed that they haven't found any nests. With a characteristic gleam in her eye, Ms. Frizzle asks, "Want to look for some Maiasaura nests, kids?"--and the bus becomes a time machine transporting the class back millions of years. They make stops in the Late Triassic Period, the Late Jurassic Period, the Late Cretaceous Period and, finally, the Cretaceous Period, where they discover a Maiasaura nesting ground. In exploring each era, the students examine various dinosaur species' habits and habitats, diets and physical characteristics. As always, Cole's text and Degen's art are fastidiously researched and exuberantly presented on creatively crowded pages. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-Preparations for Visitors Day in Room 101 come to a sudden halt when Ms. Frizzle receives an invitation to a dinosaur dig. With a twist of a dial, the Magic School Bus becomes a time machine hurtling through prehistory, stopping at various points in the Mesozoic Era so the class can observe flora and fauna, shoot a video, make smart remarks, and generate the usual blizzard of written reports. Readers may be confused to read on one page that reptiles are cold-blooded and that dinosaurs were a kind of a reptile, and on the next that some may have been warm-blooded; otherwise, Cole mixes up-to-date facts and general statements with virtuoso skill, stirring in plenty of jokes, small subplots, and flights of fancy. One gruesome scene aside, Degen's full-color illustrations enhance both the humor and the information, featuring maps, charts, actual-size drawings of fossil teeth, plenty of dinos in action, and Ms. Frizzle's famous, ever-startling wardrobe. Climb aboard-there's never a dull moment with "the Friz" at the wheel!-John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; Rev Format ed. Illustrated. edition (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590446894
• ISBN-13: 978-0590446891
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,088 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great presentation of just the right amount of information, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In The Time Of Dinosaurs (Magic School Bus) (Hardcover)

My son, who is 3 and a half, loves this book. Everytime we go to the library he asks to borrow it again. It's time to own it now.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Frizz and Co. in the Land that Time Forgot, via Heinlein, May 28, 2001

By	Ann Azuma (Kobe, Hyogo-ken Japan) - See all my reviews

It is not surprising that this is one of the best-selling children`s science series`. My five-year-old loves the pictures and story, while the seven-year-old also appreciates the plethora of facts, as well. The engaging and humorous text is packed with information and complemented by lively and amusing illustrations. The boys love the cartoon bubbles and the short "reports" by the kids in the story. The indomitable teacher, Ms Frizzle and her morphing wardrobe challenges her students on these amazing fieldtrips.

IN THE TIME OF THE DINOSAURS is about: dinosaurs and fossils. Obviously too broad a subject to cover thoroughly in this slim volume, but there`s plenty to whet the appetite. There is a real paleontologist at a real dig. And the bus turns into a time machine. The colorful charts and final class display keep us in perspective. The kids always have questions about something. Thank you Ms Frizzle, Ms Cole, and Mr Degen for answering and encouraging them.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Adventure Millions of Years in the Making!, May 3, 2004

By	Children's Book Review (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

As if Ms. Frizzle's field trips weren't time-consuming enough, now she's decided to take her class back to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth! Has the Friz gone mad? Who knows what kind of animals stalked the very land we stand on millions of years ago? This joyful journey to the Jurassic could end up a perilous predicament in the past!

Written in 1994, "The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs" is yet another wonderful collaboration between Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. It's Visitor's Day in Ms. Frizzle's class. Parents, relatives and friends are coming to see the students' work in all things dinosaurs. But not before the Friz makes a special announcement.

"Our class has been invited to a dinosaur dig," she informs her students. "We'll be leaving right away."

And, just like all the other field trips Ms. Frizzle has taken, this one ends up being bigger than originally planned. So big, in fact, it can only be described in prehistoric terms!

The students learn all about fossils (anything left from ancient animals or plants), as well as the scientists who study them (paleontologists). They also get to see how these scientists go about their work, using chisels and shovels and burlap and plaster. Then the real adventure begins when the Friz suggests to the class that they all go looking for some Maiasaura nests. And the only way to do that, of course, is to blast into the past!

Students will recognize some of the more well-known dinosaurs featured in this tale - Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex. But they will also be introduced to lesser-known plants and animals from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods - Cycads, Ferns, Elasmosaurus, and Lambeosaurus. Each different geological period represents a variety of creatures, habitats and temperatures.

Were dinosaurs part of a herd (meaning, did they live in packs?), or were they solitary creatures? Were some dinosaurs caring parents, or did they leave their young to fend for themselves? What brought about the end of a species that existed for so many millions of years? But most importantly, will Ms. Frizzle's class ever return to the present day?

As with every book in the "Magic School Bus" series, Cole and Degen wrap up their latest narrative with two things: 1) "From the Author's Desk and the Artist's Drawing Board" helps distinguish fact from fiction in the story; and 2) another clue as to the next riveting field trip the Friz has planned for her class. To weather that storm, the students had better be packing umbrellas and windbreakers! Things could get a little foggy!

Six excellently executed books into this series, and Cole and Degen haven't missed a beat. The writing is superb, the story engaging, and the artwork as clever and informative as ever. Parents and children alike will delight in a story that offers all the thrills of an amusement park ride, yet all the comforts of a favorite reading chair. So hop aboard the magic school bus!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Goodness gracious, we've reached the Late Cretaceous!"