The Magic School Bus Lost In Outer Space by Joanna Cole
I ALWAYS wanted a teacher like Ms. Frizzle. My 5th grade librarian came pretty close: Like the Friz, she had red-hair, wore crazy earrings, and always seemed a little kooky. But it was her kookiness that made her so cool and what had me going back to the library day after day. Sadly, Ms. P didn’t have the power to make a bus transform into a space ship, which is what happens in this 4th installment of The Magic School Bus series, written by Joanna Cole with illustrations by Bruce Degan.
The kids in Ms. Frizzle’s class have been studying the solar system and their teacher has planned a field trip to the planetarium. Joining them is Janet, a cousin of student Arnold. Janet has heard Arnold’s stories about what field trips with Ms. Frizzle are like but is understandably skeptical. So imagine Janet’s surprise when, in true Frizzle Fashion, something goes wrong on the way to the planetarium and the bus rockets off into outer space.
The fantastic thing about The Magic School Bus books is that they are both fun and functional. Mixed in with Ms. Frizzle’s weirdness and fabulous dresses are real scientific facts. I never really liked science class, but Ms. Frizzle always made it fun to learn.
(Speaking of fabulous dresses: Ms. Frizzle’s dress on the last page of each book was usually a clue to the theme of the next book, so make sure you pay attention to the very end.)