The Magic School Bus

The Magic School Bus is an American edutainment media franchise which includes a book series, TV adaptations, a streaming series, and various video games. Each of the stories within the franchise focuses on the antics of the fictional elementary school teacher, Ms. Valerie Frizzle, and her class (with Carlos, Keesha, Phoebe, Arnold, Tim, Ralphie, Dorothy Ann, and Wanda) who board a "magic school bus", which takes them on field trips to unusual times and locations, such as the Cretaceous Period, outer space, and inside a human body.

History

The first medium that was developed from this franchise was the Magic School Bus book series. Craig Walker, vice-president and senior editorial director at Scholastic Co., stated that the concept began with the idea of combining science with fictional stories, and Joanna Cole (who had written both science and humor before) and Bruce Degen were then approached with creating such a series. Walker also explains that his own memories of school field trips and of a teacher he had once, served as further inspiration. The first book, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, was published in 1986.

Cole and Degen started a new series called Ms. Frizzle's Adventures in 2001, which teaches social studies, eventually producing three books in that series. Microsoft Home began publishing Magic School Bus software in 1994, the same year The Magic School Bus concept was also adapted into an animated television series of the same name by Scholastic Entertainment along Canadian animation studio Nelvana.