Customer Reviews

The Magic School Bus In The Time Of The Dinosaurs (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Magic School Bus (Pb))

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!"

I wasn't familiar with the Magic School Bus series until I visited my family this past weekend--my 3-year old niece absolutely loved this book! Unconventional teacher Mrs. Frizzle takes her students on an archeological dig, but she then decides to give them a real look at dinosaurs by loading them onto her magic school bus and traveling back in time. The main body of the story is only about 5 lines per page, making the book appropriate for reading to younger children, but there is also a wealth of additional information included in surrounding insets, making the book ideal for an older beginning reader as well (and fun for adults, too!). The pictures are extremely detailed and colorful, and the illustrated children portray a variety of ethnic appearances. Given my niece's reaction, I'd highly recommend this book for aged 2-3 and up.

Head back in time with Ms. Frizzle and her class on a Dinosaur adventure. The book begins with the students in the classroom mentioning it is Visitors Day. Ms. Frizzle's class made the room into Dinosaur Land, displaying the book reports by each student on a table with the toy dinosaurs on another table.

On each page there are a few lines of text to follow the story of The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs plus the inside pages of each report showing facts and interesting tidbits on each Dinosaur. There are two distinctions for the captions above each student. If there are a few bubbles leading to the student this is a thought they are having that adds to the story. The squared captions located at each person, throughout the book is part of their dialogue. In reading the story to a child you can differentiate between these quite easily.

Before any visitors show up Ms. Frizzle announces to her class that they were invited to a dinosaur dig. Some of the kids wondered what would happen to visitor's day if they just left but grabbed the toy dinosaurs and video camera on the way to the bus. " When you have the wackiest teacher in school, you need all the luck you can get!" Displayed on the pages are lists about fossils that were done by the students as they ride along the bus to the site.

The bus drove through to the present time where they ended up back at the site where the paleontologists were worried about them. Ms. Frizzle gave them some advice on where to find fossils and they headed back to their classroom. Once inside the classroom they made a chart of the trip and soon the visitor's arrived.

Each of the students had their family members look around the classroom admiring Ms. Frizzle. All the science projects were displayed and the computer was running a tape of Dinosaurs. The kids all agreed that the teacher was an interesting person that liked to explore science.

The very last page shows Ms. Frizzle standing on a ladder at a Dinosaur museum brushing the teeth on the T. Rex.

There are so many "info-narrative" books about dinosaurs for children I was disappointed in this one. I am sorry to be the dissenting opinion but I am not impressed with this book. I would use a different book.

This book had so much great information for my 6 year old who loves dinosaurs! I even learned a few things! We love Magic School Bus and the Friz!

We love almost all the Magic School Bus books, and this is one of the best. In this installment, the bus visits a dinosaur dig, then becomes a time machine (of course) and goes back to find the Maiasaura. But they overshoot the Cretaceous and go back to Late Triassic. Then they work through the different dino periods, meeting different dinosaurs along the way, learning what the Earth looked like then as well as the names of the periods. This actually taught me a few things, and really helps put the dinosaurs into perspective. In that way it's far better than the umpteen zillion books that simply catalogue different dinos--way better than "Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur."

Another reviewer complained that this book (like all Magic School Bus books) is too "cluttered." I can understand why--I don't like overbusy books either. But this is different. The whole thing is well-thought-out and a lot of the fluff (in the dialogue and the class assignments) earns its way for its value in useful background info or humor.

I've read most of the Magic Tree House books to my 3-year-old and he still hasn't gotten tired of them. The books are also very meaty, more than what you would expect from a 45 page book that looks like a cartoon book; they usually take us two or three sittings to get through.

My son adores this book, as he was already a huge MSB fan and a huge dinosaur lover. The only thing I don't like about it as the parent reading it to him, was there seems to be a disconnect in the story regarding the characters. The book does not refer to the characters by name in the story which feels very odd to me after reading the MSB chapter books. It is only a slight weirdness and maybe I'm being too picky, because overall we do love this book and will purchase others like it.

This is a great, almost un American book in that kids are told that it's OK, even wonderful and wondrous to be science geeks, be curious. Love the Frizz when she says "take chances, get messy, make mistakes," and encourages her students to explore. In a society that elevates sports and violence for boys, and beauty and cattiness for girls, this series stands out for encouraging gender neutral intellectualism and academic achievement. My geeky 5 year old can't get enough, having finally found fictional characters that reflect her and encourage her. Factual substance-wise, I as a 40 year old have learned tons.