The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor

I liked this book a lot, but I feel like most people would typically rather watch the Magic School Bus episode on the same subject. However, I think the fact that it was based off of a television show which many people are familiar with gives people a means to easier identify with it. Additionally, anyone who has seen the TV show, whether it was about this subject or not, would already be familiar with the characters, who were still well developed in this story. One of the reasons I liked this book was because of the character Ms. Frizzle; She is eccentric but very entertaining, and at one point in the story the children proclaimed "sometimes having a weird teacher isn't so bad!" I'm planning on becoming a teacher someday, and I'm proud show more to say that I'm not entirely "normal," so I was able to identify with Ms. Frizzle and I appreciated the fact that the students valued her unusual tendencies. Another reason I really liked this book was because of the illustrations. The story was told through a narrative text, but it was strongly supported by comments the students made in text boxes in the illustrations. Furthermore, a lot of the information about the Ocean Floor was presented in the form of "student written" reports on the sides of the pages. None of this information was essential to the development of the story, but it is all factual, and contains a great deal of information. The central message of this book is about protecting and valuing our oceans, and the various animal and plant life that is contained within.

Reading level 2-6 show less

I have always been a fan of the Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole; they are really great informational books that engage kids and encourage scientific investigations in ones own surroundings. In this particular book, Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip to the ocean where the class learns about hot water vents, coral reefs, plant and animal life on the ocean floor, and the different levels of the ocean. I found this book so engaging and interesting because of how the book was organized and the variety of extra-textural features present throughout it. I think this book is so engaging (and others in the series, too) because it is set up with field trips that are unrealistic; yet, children become immersed in the book because show more they wish they could go on these field trips, but since they cannot they can read this book. I thought it was really neat how all the words present on each page were informative regarding the illustrations and content of the page. There was the main text, dialogue bubbles, posters, and on the sides of each page were students’ reports—all of which reflected the main topic of that specific page. The illustrations were superb; they had excessive detail and truly enhanced the story—especially with how they encompassed the children’s various reactions with what was happening. All of the extra-textural features were clear and to the point and I felt that they aided in understanding the ocean floor because they all provided interesting, specific details pertinent to the topic. The big idea of this book was how significant the ocean is and it is important to understand how it works so one can realize the importance of recycling and respecting our environment. show less

This book would be good for students who are in younger elementary grade levels because it has a lot of pictures to show the travels that happen throughout the book, and it uses a lot of imagination which is prime in lower grade levels. It goes through how Ms. Frizzle takes her students on a trip to the ocean floor and shows them the creatures and things that live down there. This would be good in a classroom because it has the educational aspect of learning about the ocean and creatures, but also uses creativity and allows students to use their imagination while they are reading the story.

The illustrations of the old-school Magic School Bus books were always a treat to look at, and was, in my opinion, what made the books so engaging. Don't get me wrong, the subject matter was presented well in an age-appropriate way, but the details in the illustrations and the way they were done really helped as a visual, especially in this book as the kids learn about the ocean.

I love this book series because it explains nonfiction topics in a narrative style that engages younger audiences. My class was able to learn about marine life and the ocean in a stimulating and fun way. I love the layout of the book because it is very similar to the Let's Investigate with Nate series in which conversation bubbles and notebook entries are used as new ways to present text. I would recommend this series to any elementary teacher because it covers a range of scientific topics, and it would be a great way to introduce the material to a class to spark their interest.

I really love the Magic School Bus Books, and this one is just another one that can be added to the collection of some of my favorite books. This book really catches the readers attention but the way it is made. There are fun facts, side notes and even like a comic strip of a conversation the students are having as the story is being read. Its a very creative writing style and layout for a book and it really makes it enjoyable to readers. There is also a lot of labels and pictures within the book that helps the reader fully understand what is being discussed, in this case its the ocean, and the many creatures that live in it as well as facts about the ocean. The main message of this book is that there are many things that can be learned show more by simply having fun. In the story Ms. Frizzle could just lecture away and have the students take notes but she doesn't do that. She instead takes the students on a field trip where they are actually exploring and learning hands on. show less

I liked this book for several reasons. First I liked the illustrations because they were full of different colors and many different sea animals. The ocean floor is shown with bright blue colors, sand, and many fish. Where as on page 27, the deep ocean floor is shown with only one color, black. The illustrator made sure to add the fish that would be seen on the deep ocean floor such as an angler fish. Also, I enjoy the writing because there are very descriptive details about the ocean floor, for example on page 19, there is an explanation what a continental shelf is. As well as other notes on the sides of the pages what other key vocabulary is. The big idea of this story is to have an understanding what the ocean floor is, what is in show more it, and the importance of keeping the animals and water protected and safe. show less