Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle [Hardcover]

Joanna Cole (Author), Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003 | Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Magic School Bus

In the second of MS. FRIZZLE'S ADVENTURES, the Friz travels back in time to a medieval castle -- and teaches readers all about the Middle Ages.

With her reluctant student, Arnold, the Friz slips through a mysterious trap door -- and ends up in the Middle Ages! There, they explore a medieval castle, meeting the people who live there and learning about everyday life within the castle walls. When the castle is threatened by invaders, Arnold and the Friz don chain mail to lead the defense. They repel the invaders just in the nick of time, then they joust and feast before returning to the 21st century. With their careful research and trademark wit, Cole and Degen introduce the many facets of medieval life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

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 © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; First Edition edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590108204
• ISBN-13: 978-0590108201
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joanna Cole s a former elementary school teacher and librarian and a frequent contributor to Parents magazine. Joanna Cole lives in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and Colorful Summary of Medieval Castles, March 2, 2007

By 

Learning All The Time "It's Never Too Late to... (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle (Hardcover)

This oversized paperback book has been a great addition to our collection about the Middle Ages, mainly because my kids (2nd & 3rd grade) love it and it is a pretty good summary of what they've learned.

The book defines a castle, labels the parts of a castle, gives some idea of what castle life was like for those who lived in and around the castle (peasants, craftsmen, servants, nobility), shows how a castle was attacked and defended, and describes a Great Hall feast after the battle.

While I consider the pages to be a bit busy - there is a narrative Ms. Frizzle travel-back-in-time story, there is comic-strip style commentary relevant to the narrative story (which the kids find terribly funny), and there are Q&As at the bottom of the page - the children find it very appealing. They pull this book out to read on their own.

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and lighthearted, September 14, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle (Hardcover)

This book is fun -- everyone enjoys it. The oversized format gives space for the main illustrations, plus some sidebar panels along the edges of the pages. The Magic School Bus books have a nice, light touch. Even reluctant readers will dive into this one. Like all Magic School Bus books, it's a bit corny and anachronistic... but it's fun and the kids love it.

5.0 out of 5 stars fun & educational book, December 10, 2010

By 

trulytexans (DALLAS, TX, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle (Hardcover)

This book is very informative and fun for my 6 year old son who loves Medieval Times jousting knights. Ms Frissle is the Magic School Bus teacher, so it is written with with great detail to facts, but with fun characters. I recommend it for ages 6 to 10.