Beth Nadler

This book is an interesting mix of fantasy and non-fiction. When Miss Frizzle's class finds out that Ralphie is sick, they want to know what's causing it. So, they get on the bus, shrink down to microscopic size, and go into Ralphie's body through a scrape on his knee and find out themselves.
This book is more engaging than if the information were presented without the shrinking of Ralphie's classmates. It makes the reader feel like they're really there, even though they could never really show more go inside Ralphie to see what a germ looks like. It's very informative as well as very fun. show less

This science fiction book does a wonderful job at making parts of the body and learning about germs fun! The storyline, use of illustrations, and characters all work together to depict what the inside of the body looks like and how bacteria and white and red blood cells work. The story, how they go inside Ralphie's body and explore, really engages children, makes learning fun, and really brings the science down to the students' levels. This book is great and I would absolutely use this in my show more classroom as soon as I had the chance! show less

The Magic School Bus is a great series for students to learn from. Inside Ralphie was very informative and interesting. I really liked the storyline and the illustrations through out the book.
The storyline grabs the reader in and keeps the reader wanting more till the last page. The story starts off with a student who is sick and the crazy teacher who takes the students on a field trip inside of the sick boy. Many people can relate to feeling sick and not wanting to take the icky medicine. show more The author was able to explain to the readers why it is important to take medicine through a unique and informative way.
The illustrations through out the story were defiantly attention grabbers. Yes, we all know it is impossible for a bus to shrink up and go inside of a person; however, what the class found inside the body was realistic. The illustrations of the human body was very interesting in the fact that it was not to graphic but it was detailed. There was even a point when Ralphie’s mom thought he was watching a real anatomy show on the television (she did not know it was the inside of her son). The cells were drawn like cells that are in anatomy books.
The main story line was to inform the reader how bacteria works in the body and how important it is to take medicine. The class field trip inside of Ralphie was able to watch the cells work with the medicine to attack the bacteria. If it was not for the medicine the bacteria would of grown and Ralphie would have gotten sicker. show less

This is a fun and engaging book that can be used to teach students about the human body and what it means to be sick. It provides an unexpected perspective when looking at and thinking about the body that is very engaging for students in the upper elementary grades. This may be a little over the heads of K-2 students. This book makes the exploration of the human body relatable by exploring the route of the sickness traveling through a student's body.