Ms Frizzle Goes To Egypt, And Her Creators Return To Booth Library

By Shannon Hicks

Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, the author and illustrator, respectively, of the immensely popular Magic School Bus series of books, will be at C.H. Booth Library in Newtown this weekend to celebrate the release of their latest collaboration, Ms Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt (Scholastic Press, 48 pages hardcover, 2001, $15.95). Ms Cole and Mr Degen will be participating in the library’s ongoing “Author! Author!” series on Sunday, November 11.

The program will begin at 2 pm and is suitable for all ages. It will include a slide show, a discussion with the two Newtown residents concerning their creative process, and a book signing session. Copies of the brand-new Ms Frizzle book will be available for purchase during Sunday afternoon’s program.

“We are especially trying to appeal to primary school kids, their teachers and parents, and anyone interested in children’s literature,” Mr Degen said this week. 

In Ms Frizzle Adventures: Ancient Egypt, the science teacher from Walkerville Elementary School is on summer vacation and ready to play chaperone to some students and parents. As with all books concerning Ms Frizzle, this story is both fun and fact-filled. What has changed is that this time Ms Frizzle goes beyond science and her classroom. This time her mission is a social studies exploration of a historic era, its civilization and location. The new book is the first of a series that will have the teacher exploring different areas of studies around the world.

“She’ll be taking trips on her summer breaks and weekends,” Mr Degen said. The artist mentioned that he purposely chose a different medium — gouache instead of watercolor — to give the new series a different look than the classic series.

In the new release, Ms Frizzle leaves behind her magic school bus and begins her newest outing on a plane, along with the other vacationers taking a summer trip to Egypt. While parachuting from the plane (don’t ask), the group finds its adventure beginning. They may have jumped out of the plane during the summer of 2001, but the group lands on the ground in ancient Egypt. Things with Ms Frizzle are never boring.

Among other things, readers learn about the everyday life of ancient Egyptians. They are introduced to some of the period’s gods, among them Re, Thoth, Hathor, Anubis, and Bastet. Readers also learn what canopic jars are and what they are used for; that pyramids were not built by slaves; that in Hieroglyphics, each picture stands for a sound; that the language of Egypt is Arabic; and that the Nile is the longest river in the world. Readers also finally learn what Ms Frizzle’s first name is.

Always prepared for anything, Ms Frizzle saves the day later in the book when she pulls eight Egyptian party costumes out of her bag one night — yep, just enough for herself and the seven others on the trip who find themselves attending a banquet for a king, or pharaoh. The group then spends the next morning preparing a mummy (closing notes explain to the younger readers, and will help parents as well, that a mummy takes much longer than one morning’s time to create), before finding their way back to their plane and the current time frame. Ms Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt also offers good comparisons of how things were done in ancient Egypt versus how they are approached today.

There are great puns and visual jokes spread throughout the book. Bruce Degen’s drawings are as wonderful as ever, as is the exemplary storyline and facts presentation by Joanna Cole.

The target group for The Magic School Bus series (which includes books, related products, a website, and a television show) includes children ages 6 to 9. Liz Books, which feature Ms Frizzle’s lizard Liz, are written for the younger MSB fan, but everything is appropriate for the child in all readers.

The series has already taken readers to waterworks, into the solar system, on an “electric field trip,” inside a hurricane, back to the time of the dinosaurs, inside the earth, inside the human body, down to the ocean floor, and inside a beehive, among other destinations.

Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen have been collaborating on the Magic School Bus series for 16 years.

“We started working on these in 1985, and the first one came out in 1986,” Mr Degen said. “It takes a lot of work to produce one each year. This is no factory.”

Ms Cole has always been interested in writing books for children that would entertain as well as educate them. Mr Degen enjoys creating the bold, eclectic dresses, shoes and accessories of the teacher who is the main character in the ongoing series, and bases many of the students of Ms Frizzle’s class on children he knew while living in New York. Ms Cole and Mr Degen both live with their families in Newtown; in addition to the Magic School Bus series, each has written or illustrated their own children’s books.

Readers know that by looking at the dress Ms Frizzle is wearing on the final pages of each adventure generally offers a sneak peak at the next adventure Ms Cole and Mr Degen are working on. At the conclusion of Ms Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt, the teacher is found watering her plants and wearing a bathrobe adorned with castles and knights’ shields. Could Ms Frizzle be getting ready to go Medieval? Only time will tell…

In the meantime, young readers and their parents can visit Newtown’s library this weekend to meet Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen.