Joanna Cole

When Arnold wishes he had more information for his family tree, Ms. Frizzle revs up the Magic School Bus and the class zooms back to prehistoric times. First stop: 3.5 billion years ago! There aren't any people around to ask for directions. Luckily Ms. Frizzle has a plan, and the class is right there to watch simple cells become sponges and then fish and dinosaurs, then mammals and early primates and, eventually, modern humans. It's the longest class...

Ms. Frizzle takes her kids on a whirlwind tour, from the Arctic to the equator so they can see telltale signs of climate change.

Ms. Frizzle and her tour group are transported to ancient Egypt, where they learn about the pyramids, mummification, flooding of the Nile, and other aspects of life in Egypt long ago.

Ms. Frizzle is invited to spend Chinese New Year with the family of one of her students and they are all transported back to imperial China where they learn about rice farming, silk making, the Great Wall of China, and the Chinese Emperor.

When Ms. Frizzle and her student Arnold follow an underground passage beneath Craig's Castle Shop and find themselves in the middle of a siege of a 12th century English castle, they learn a great deal about both castles and the Middle Ages.

On a special field trip in the magic school bus, Ms Frizzle's class learn at first hand about different kinds of rocks and the formation of the earth.

An introduction to the horse, its habits, anatomy, physiology, and evolution.

Ms. Frizzle's students need science fair projects so she takes them on a tour through the ages to get ideas from some of the greatest scientists.

Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip through the town's electrical wires so they can learn how electricity is generated and how it is used.

When Ms. Frizzle, the strangest teacher in school, takes her class on a field trip to the waterworks, everyone ends up experiencing the water purification system from the inside.