The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks facts for kids
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| Author | Joanna Cole |
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| Illustrator | Bruce Degen |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Magic School Bus |
| Genre | Educational fiction |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
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Publication date
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July 24, 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) also Audio book |
| Pages | 40 |
| ISBN | 0-590-40360-5 |
| OCLC | 33843132 |
| Followed by | The Magic School Bus inside the Earth |
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks is the very first book in the popular The Magic School Bus series. It was written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. This picture book introduces many of the main characters you know.
You'll meet the amazing Ms. Frizzle, along with students like Arnold, Dorothy Ann, Ralphie, Tim, Wanda, and Liz. Some other students appear in this book too. It's the class's first exciting field trip with Ms. Frizzle.
In this book, the bus doesn't cause the strange events directly. Instead, weird things just happen on their own! This is a bit different from later books and the TV show.
Contents
What Happens in the Book?
The story begins by introducing Ms. Frizzle. She is a very unusual teacher with unique ways of teaching. One day, she decides to take her class on a field trip. Their destination is the waterworks.
The kids think this trip will be super boring. Other classes go to exciting places! But Ms. Frizzle's trips are never boring. After driving through a tunnel, the bus suddenly changes. It gets covered in octopus pictures! Everyone inside finds themselves wearing swimming outfits.
An Unexpected Cloud Adventure
After the bus changes, it floats up into a cloud. It rises with evaporating water. Ms. Frizzle then tells all the kids to get out of the bus. They really don't want to leave! But she threatens them with extra homework. So, they climb out.
Once outside, the kids start shrinking. They become as tiny as raindrops! Then, they rain down into a river. The river carries them into the town's water cleaning system. They travel through the waterworks. After that, pipes take the class back to their school.
Back to School and a Mystery
The class comes out of a faucet in the girls' bathroom! A seventh-grade girl turns on the faucet. Suddenly, the whole class appears from it. Once they are out of the faucet, they instantly return to their normal size. Their regular clothes are back too. Only Ms. Frizzle is still in her octopus dress.
Ms. Frizzle seems to have no memory of the strange trip. The class later sees the bus outside. They wonder how it returned from the cloud. They even think they might have imagined the whole adventure! The book ends with Ms. Frizzle telling them their next topic: volcanoes. After the main story, there are two pages. These pages list things that couldn't happen in real life.
The TV Show Version
| "The Magic School Bus Wet All Over" | |
|---|---|
| The Magic School Bus episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 5 |
| Production code | Unknown |
| Original air date | October 14, 1995 |
The book was later made into a TV episode. It was part of the second season of The Magic School Bus television series. The episode is called "Wet All Over." It has a lot more plot than the book.
What Happens in the Episode?
In the episode, Arnold and Wanda are collecting water. They are in the girls' bathroom. Arnold accidentally leaves Ms. Frizzle's key there. He also forgets to turn off the water! While the class is on their field trip, Liz tries to stop the bathroom from flooding. It's quite funny!
Unlike the book, the class actually turns into water. The bus travels with them on their journey. They go through the entire water cycle. Since they are water, they get trapped in the water cycle. They realize the only way out is to get Ms. Frizzle's key back. Arnold then remembers he left the key in the bathroom. He also remembers he forgot to turn off the water!
The bus manages to send them to the waterworks. They then travel through the pipes. They finally reach the bathroom. There, they get the key. Once they have it, they turn back into their human forms. In a later episode, Arnold gets into a pickle jar. He says, "I hope we're not back in the water cycle." This is a funny reference to this water adventure!
