Customer Reviews

The Magic School Bus Gets Baked in a Cake: A Book About Kitchen Chemistry

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When their inimitable school bus goes on the fritz (or should I say, "frizz"?,) the students get worried: this is one field trip they don`t want to miss. They`re trying to give their unique teacher a surprise birthday party and need to get to the bakery for the cake. When they finally reach their destination, the unstable bus suddenly shrinks, with everyone in it, to the size of a moth. They dodge the baker`s fly swatter and Ms Frizzle while using kitchen chemistry to get the job done. My boys and I miss the volume of information and mini "reports" of the original series, but they still learn and have fun at the same time. They have a new respect for cooking, as edible chemistry. And the baking soda experiment at the back of the book is a rainy day standby in our household: we love the fizz from the Frizz!

"Our teacher, Ms. Frizzle, is always surprising us. So on her birthday, we decided to surprise her. We planned a big party. We had balloons, streamers, confetti, and even noisemakers. 'We thought of everything,', said Carolos. But Arnold wasn't so sure. 'Something's missing', he said." -- From the book

In case you're not familiar with Scholastic series of Magic School Bus books, they are books which are based on the animated TV series--which are, incindentally, based on the ORIGINAL books written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. (Whew!)

In The Magic School Bus Gets Baked in a Cake, Ms. Frizzle takes her class to a bakery for a chemistry field trip. According to Ms. Frizzle, a bakery is a small chemical factory.

The class gets the idea to distract Ms. Frizzle by sending her to a nearby auto parts store to fix the bus. Meanwhile, they've been shrunken to the size of a moth--but make the attempt to bake a chocolate cake for Ms. Frizzle's surprise birthday party!

The kids learn about measuring and chemical reactions, including to the old vinegar + baking soda = gas experiment (which actually contributes to them escaping getting baked into the cake!).

As always, there are cheesy jokes throughout (e.g. "We've got flour power" and "This batter is taking a real beating"), but it's a great introduction to "kitchen chemistry"--and how mixing ingredients and adding heat (baking) are, in fact, chemical reactions.

I use the Magic School Bus books, videos and DVDs to supplement science class (I homeschool), and they never disappoint with their down-to-Earth approach to science concepts.

I was reading this to my nephew and a woman who identified herself as a teacher commented that the book was very educational and fun. My nephew was enjoying the story and the pictures probably not realizing how much he was learning along the way. Great series.

I liked this book, it was interrasting and it had made me read more and omre till i got through it all. I like the part when the shrunk and the guy was chaseing them and the flew into the cake and went into the oven i didn't think there would make it out.

I liked it because the baker thought the magic school bus was a moth.

I don't think children's books should glorify these sorts of "trips". But the colors are vivid and I think most of the unsuitable references will go over the heads of its younger readers.