Ride on, Magic School Bus! (Informational fiction. 5-8)
The updated Magic School Bus Rides Again TV series tempts newly independent readers and science lovers with an early chapter book about fish adaptations.
Those familiar with the original cartoon will notice some differences in the cast and their appearances in the illustrations (done by 9story): Phoebe is gone, replaced by Jyoti, who appears to be Indian, and Wanda's features are less stereotypically East Asian, though she still has olive skin and black hair. All of the kids appear slightly older and more sophisticated than their counterparts from the previous series. But the biggest change is their teacher, Ms. Frizzle’s younger sister, Fiona Frizzle, who is young, thin, white, and wears her wavy hair down but still has clothing that matches the theme (though it isn’t as outlandish as her sister’s) and abides by the same motto: “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.” The kids do all of that and more on a midwinter trip to Hawaii. While everyone else wants to relax, Wanda wants to help/save some species, and while snorkeling, she spies just the one: a bluestripe snapper that is alone and seems vulnerable. Individual fish-shaped submarines, courtesy of the bus, allow the students to explore how fish use their fins, swim bladders, and lateral lines to swim and survive both individually and as a school, and the classmates use their newfound knowledge to save Wanda from a threatening shark. Backmatter includes a glossary and the usual end-of-episode questions that sort fact from fiction. Finished illustrations not seen.
Ride on, Magic School Bus! (Informational fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-23214-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
An unusual offering for the young geology nerd.
This British import is an imaginatively constructed sequence of images that show a white boy examining a city pavement, clearly in London, and the sights he would see if he were able to travel down to the Earth’s core and then back again to the surface.
The geologic layers are depicted in 10 vertical spreads that require a 90-degree turn to be read and include endpapers, which open out, concertina fashion, to show the interior of the Earth to its core. Beneath the urban setting are drains, pipes, and artifacts of urban infrastructure. Below that, archaeological relics are revealed. An Underground train speeds by, and below it, a stalactite-encrusted cave yawns. Deep below the Earth’s crust, magma, the Earth’s mantle, and the inner core are shown. Turn the page to start going up again, back through the mantle to the crust, where precious minerals are revealed, then fossils, tree roots, and animal burrows, ending with the same boy in the English countryside. The painted, stenciled, and collaged illustrations are full-bleed, and the tones graduate pleasantly from light colors at the surface of the Earth to rich pinks, yellows, and oranges as readers near the Earth’s core. The text is informative, if lacking in poetry, including such nuggets as “earthworms are expert recyclers, eating dead plants in the soil.”
An unusual offering for the young geology nerd. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68297-136-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Words & Pictures
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
