Lost in the Solar System (The Magic School Bus, #4) by Joanna Cole

Lost in the Solar System (The Magic School Bus, #4) Reviews

• 
  Stacy

  Ms. Frizzle and the class explore our solar system, planet by planet and through the asteroid belt. The book is educational, giving lots of information (I learned some things), but is a bit long for one sitting. We read it in two sittings.
• 
  M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews

  The illustrations of the solar system make this book a real treat to read!
• 
  Carolyn

  OK, so a book that starts this conversation is GREAT!!
  
  Sitting at traffic light in car, looking at the sunset:
  5 yr old: Mommy did you know, the sun is a giant ball of gas?
  Me: Why, yes it is...[thus ensues a conversation on the size of the sun compared to the earth, other planets in the solar system, etc.)
  
  When I asked her if they were talking about the sun/solar system in preschool, she said no, she was reading about it in the Magic School Bus book.
  
  Can I just say - AWESOME!!!! = )
  Doesn't hurt that they also watch the MSB shows occasionally as well - good reinforcement of the topics.
• 
  Siobhan

  A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.
  
  And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?
• 
  Joan

  I just loved the Magic School bus series! The class goes on a trip to the planetarium but it was closed. Suddenly the bus transforms itself into a rocket and takes off! Ms. Frizzle, not batting an eye, immediately started telling the kids about the sun and various planets as the bus went by each. The fictional storyline in this one is particularly strong with wisecracking kids and fun illustrations. I thought the weight/fortune scale on each planet was a wonderful touch. It is, of course, out of date, which is why I withdrew it from the library since Pluto is called a planet although the author did note it was a particularly iffy plant. I kept hoping Cole and Degen would update this but they never did. Oh well.
• 
  Diz

  This has everything you expect from this series. The only downside is that some of the science is a bit outdated. My child was criticizing the idea that Pluto is a planet, so it may not entertain the kids of today as much as the kids of the 90s.
• 
  Adam

  Adam Stukey
  EDCI Author Study
  Book Review
  
  The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System
  Background information, Joanne Cole is a well-known children’s book author. She has written myriad books in a variety of formats. From picture books to small short stories, she has done it all. She is famous for her Magic School Bus series. It even has its own television show. Miss. Frizzle is an icon in today’s modern classroom. But Miss. Frizzle was not the first fictional character that Cole developed. Cole first started publishing books in the early sixty’s. Her well known Magic School Bus series did not see bookshelves until the early nineties. One of her first books that was fully developed was called Wet Albert. Today we will be taking a closer look at The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System.
  Description, a group of students sets out for a trip to their local planetarium. Once they arrive though, they find that it is unfortunately closed. Their crazy teacher comes to the rescue; she transforms the school bus into a space rocket that has the power to travel to all of the planets. The students visit each of the planets in order and learn about their main characteristics before they come back to Earth.
  Conclusion, the book does not stray far from it cookie cutter predecessors, but this is a good thing, as the audience knows what to expect when they read a Magic School Bus book. The book is thoroughly entertaining; there is an interesting plot that keeps its readers engaged, while still teaching them about science. In conclusion, this would be a good book for any teacher to have in their classroom. Joanne Cole’s The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System is an A+ in any elementary classroom.
  
• 
  Kamillah

  In my favorite book in The Magic School Bus series, Ms. Frizzle's class field trip to the planetarium turns into a trip through the solar system. In each Magic School Bus adventure, their faithful school bus transforms to take the class into the heart of their eccentric teacher's lesson plan. In this volume, their bus becomes a space shuttle, blasting into the solar system, where they journey to the moon, sun, through the asteroid belt where they lose Ms. Frizzle (!) and to each planet (and planetoid, in the case of Pluto, in this updated version of the book).
  
  Each page includes expansive illustrations full of details and clever plays on words to amuse adults, along with school-themed notes with fun facts and diagrams sprinkled throughout the story. This is my favorite book in the series because I love the topic and it has more of a plot than the other books in the series. Ms. Cole writes timeless science books for kids (and adults) of all ages because she provides multi-layered stories, illustrations and information, which both give a lively introduction for those new to the subject and invite seasoned young scientists to return to the book again and again to find even more fun facts and hidden details.
• 
  Katie Williams

  Fun and engaging as always, this book is a great introduction for learning about the solar system. It provides great vocabulary as well as definitions; there is also a video that goes along with the book which would be a good way to follow up any astrological lesson on our solar system. The book is based on the premise of the students going on a field trip to a planetarium that turns out to be closed, so they board the magic school bus and visit the actual solar system instead. A great and interactive activity would be to set up the classroom like the solar system using decorated foam balls that dangle from the ceiling and other various decoration necessities. Depending on the activity the teacher wanted to do they could choose to do specific parts of the solar system and continue this lesson throughout the week or more. For each planet, etc., they could engage in 10-15 minute activities. The teacher could act as their space guide as they walk through the classroom and discover different facts about the solar system and space. As a closing, students could fill out a big class chart as a whole about the various things they learned about each planetary body.
• 
  Tots R

  Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator) (Historical fiction)
  The Magic School Bus series is one that all of my daycare children have enjoyed. This is a great book for introducing the solar system to young children. The story starts off with the children getting ready to go on a field trip to the planetarium. They load the bus and travel there only to find that it is closed! They start back to the school in the bus and while at a red light, the bus suddenly leans back and takes off! It becomes a rocket ship into space! The bus has changed into a rocket and the children are also suddenly wearing space suits and floating above their seats. The bus/rocket takes the class on a tour of the solar system. I recommend this book for children ages 3and up. This is a great book to use when teaching children about the different planets. I have a sensory box that I use when ready this book to my children. As the book talks about the different planets I have one of my children pull the planet out of the sensory box and tell me what they learned about that planet. This book has good illustrations for children to follow.
  
• 
  Makayla Hubble

  What an amazing children's science fiction book! I loved reading “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System” by Joanna Cole, the story line was so fun and interesting to follow, plus there was so much factual information on the side of the story! Magic School Bus should be brought into all Elementary classrooms, they have so much to teach children. In this book, Ms. Frizzles class plans on going to the local planetarium to learn about the sky and solar system, the story takes a turn when the planetarium is closed! The magic school bus then turns into a spaceship takes them up into space, the students are now astronauts. They got to play on the moon, see Earth from afar, flew over the sun, drive through Venus’s yellow clouds, learned about Mar’s multiple moons and much more! They ended up losing Ms. Frizzle but end up reuniting with her in the asteroid belt. I also loved the “mini essays” that are on the outsides of each page. They included facts about the solar system and everything involved with it.
  
• 
  Aaron Alexander

  This is a fun magic school bus book in which Ms Frizzle's class takes a trip to space. On their trip, the class learned many things about space. A few of the things they learn about are the order of the planets, the effect of less or more gravity on an object, and the various geographic features that can be observed on planets such as Mars. While this is a very content heavy book, it is still presented in a way that is fun and engaging for students to read and learn from. There are many activities that could be taken from this book and use in the classroom setting. You could ask students to create a model of a specific planet and it's observable features or you could ask them to write a narrative of their own imaginary field trip to space. They could be very creative in their responses and have some fun deciding what they would do.
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  Sophie Crane

  They are great books, but the series “The Magic School Bus” already has a certain vocabulary! My niece loves the stories this class experiences! The teacher is not standing at the blackboard explaining the topics in a boring way, but the class gets on the Magic School bus and experiences for themselves how things work, how the underwater world is, etc.! The children suddenly get floating heads and can breathe underwater, etc.! That's how things are experienced and my son loves the stories from the Magic School Bus!! But they are also really great, of all Marry Poppins!!
• 
  Robin

  i have strong memories of reading this under my ninja turtles comforter on my bottom bunk with a reading light. it was one of the first times i had ever used a reading light, and the entire thing felt so adventurous and romantic to younger me. it's one of my fondest reading memories.
  
  my partner read this to me to help me fall asleep because i'm sick. i felt very safe & comforted & taken care of. this is now one of my fondest reading memories, too.
• 
  Rain Misoa

  A blast (get it?) to the past! A great children's book for anyone to enjoy!
  
  To read my full review, click
  here.
• 
  Andy Zach

  Take a tour of the Solar System with Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School bus. Never has going to school been so much fun.
  
  Oh no! Ms. Frizzle gets lost in space and the bus goes out of control on autopilot! What happens next?
  
  Find out in this next installment of the Magic School Bus series.
• 
  Amara

  I hope there is a newer, updated version, because some facts were outdated. Otherwise, excellent!