Moore, Eva
The Truth about Bats (Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books) [Paperback] - - Scholastic 1999 - 72 pages
*Ms. Frizzle makes mistakes (Butterfly Battle), gets nervous, (Voyage to the Volcano), and gets sick (The Great Shark Escape), whereas in the TV series (which I am comparing them to rather than the original books, because that's obviously what they're based on), she never does any of those things. It even specifically stated on "Inside Ralphie" that she never gets sick. *Arnold is pretty much the same, although he doesn't seem to know anything about rocks (Rocky Road Trip) - in the TV show they're his favorite thing - and he has been given Ralphie's tendency toward motion sickness (several books). *Ralphie is my biggest complaint about this series. While I will admit to being prejudiced as he is my favorite character in the TV series, anyone can see the difference. Whereas before Ralphie was the class athlete and mentioned food no more or less than any of the other boys, he now suddenly is the only member of the class who can't jump onto a moving conveyer belt (The Search for the Missing Bones) and clumsy and food-obsessed (Color Day Relay). One can't help but wonder if they perhaps did this because Ralphie is the most heavily built student in Ms. Frizzle's class. Also, his overactive imagination has been toned down considerably. *Phoebe thought bats were ugly (The Truth About Bats). The Phoebe I know would never say an animal is ugly. *Dorothy Ann is not only the smartest kid in the class, she is now a stuck-up know-it-all who constantly wants to feel superior to the other kids (Voyage to the Volcano). I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. While it is great that a new generation of kids is being introduced to these characters, the question remains - exactly who are they being introduced to?
9780439107983
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The Truth about Bats (Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books) [Paperback] - - Scholastic 1999 - 72 pages
*Ms. Frizzle makes mistakes (Butterfly Battle), gets nervous, (Voyage to the Volcano), and gets sick (The Great Shark Escape), whereas in the TV series (which I am comparing them to rather than the original books, because that's obviously what they're based on), she never does any of those things. It even specifically stated on "Inside Ralphie" that she never gets sick. *Arnold is pretty much the same, although he doesn't seem to know anything about rocks (Rocky Road Trip) - in the TV show they're his favorite thing - and he has been given Ralphie's tendency toward motion sickness (several books). *Ralphie is my biggest complaint about this series. While I will admit to being prejudiced as he is my favorite character in the TV series, anyone can see the difference. Whereas before Ralphie was the class athlete and mentioned food no more or less than any of the other boys, he now suddenly is the only member of the class who can't jump onto a moving conveyer belt (The Search for the Missing Bones) and clumsy and food-obsessed (Color Day Relay). One can't help but wonder if they perhaps did this because Ralphie is the most heavily built student in Ms. Frizzle's class. Also, his overactive imagination has been toned down considerably. *Phoebe thought bats were ugly (The Truth About Bats). The Phoebe I know would never say an animal is ugly. *Dorothy Ann is not only the smartest kid in the class, she is now a stuck-up know-it-all who constantly wants to feel superior to the other kids (Voyage to the Volcano). I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. While it is great that a new generation of kids is being introduced to these characters, the question remains - exactly who are they being introduced to?
9780439107983
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