We’re a unit study and lapbooking family. We love to take a week, two weeks, even a month to explore a topic. We have used the Magic School Bus series to shape our units from the beginning. As a matter of fact, we spent one entire year doing science units that centered around the Magic School Bus books and there are still more left to do! With 5 children at my house this series is bound to have a book to interest each of them. Here is our home library of Magic School Bus books. 
There are several book series available now. 
The classic series consists of 10 books covering topics from the 5 senses to bees, space to dinosaurs. Note: The books are not from a Christian viewpoint, and as such you will come across references to ‘millions of years’, but these information packed books provide a great opportunity to discuss your beliefs with your children on such topics when you feel they are ready. My 4 year old Emma’s favorite book in the Classic series is The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body, which takes you on a digestive system adventure. 
Most of my children can tell you all the parts of the digestive system thanks to this one. It is presented like an amusement park ride, so it is pretty easy to remember. 5 year old Joseph’s pick would be The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth. He loves when the bus turns into this giant drill and tunnels into the earth. This books was also his first introduction to caves. After reading this one he really enjoyed watching the caves episode on Planet Earth.
The Magic School Bus was made into a series for television, some of which is now available on DVD. This series spawned 31 more books, the TV books. Topics covered include:
- Color
- Migration
- Heat
- Bats
- The Water Cycle
- Germs
- Habitats
- Plants
- And Many More!
Our favorite book in this group is hard to pick. My 2 year old Daniel’s favorite is The Magic School Going Batty. 
There are 6 books in the Liz series, centered around the class lizard’s adventures. Liz Looks for a Home is our favorite in this set. There are even Magic School Bus easy readers, including one we used when studying dentists and teeth called The Magic School Bus and the Missing Tooth.
Our favorite set is the Magic School Bus chapter books. There are 20 books in this set. Some cover topics from earlier books, like space or dinosaurs, 
but these chapter books are filled with information beyond the other series’. We loved The Search for the Missing Bones, which we used to learn the major bones of the human body. We use these as a read aloud during a unit. Makayla, at age 8, has read all the Magic School Bus books and narrowed her favorites down to two. The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad from the TV series is all about decomposition. Her favorite from the chapter books is Penguin Puzzle, where the bus ends up in Antarctica.
There are many other Magic School Bus Resources available, including computer games, DVDs, and the official website. On the website you will find:
- games to play
- coloring pages to print
- guided tours that combine games videos and quizzes
- more than 30 science experiments to try
- a section for parents and teachers with themed lesson plans
Take a field trip from your home with any of the Magic School Bus library!
Written by Tristan, mom to 5, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks. You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.
We love Magic School Bus at our house too! We’re working on a study of the human body and are using a few of their books. Great post!
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We love Magic School Bus books too!! Great post!!
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Great post! My kids love Magic School Bus books. You have inspired me to do some study units with them 🙂
This is exactly what I needed. I have been wanting to do more unit studies but really needed some inspiration. This post did it. I can’t wait to get started.
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Thanks for the comments- I’m glad to know other families love the Magic School Bus too!
Angela – have fun with it! Unit studies have been my lifeboat. We all have fun and the learning is more like playtime when it is about something we are interested in.
One of my favorite posts! My kids have been MSB obsessed since they were around 3 or 4! We have all of the available episodes that have been released on dvd-wish they’d do the whole series. We have almost all of the tv series picture books. I wasn’t aware of the Liz series and have seen only one of the chapter books at a used bookstore. I’m going to have to check those out too! Thanks for the inspiration to do more with them!
Great post Tristan! My ds loves science and we have some of the Magic School Bus books too.
My only issue with the Magic School Bus books is the disrespect the children show for the teacher. Before my son could read, I would just leave out the rude comments, but once he started reading I ended up getting rid of them.
That said, these are a fun. I just wish they reinforced respect for teachers. 🙁
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We never thought the kids disrespect “The Frizz.” Neither does our kids’ aunt, who taught 2-3rd grade kids in a conservative Christian school using these books as part of her curriculum. Wearing silly clothes, doing surprising things, and being sort of an exaggerated “character” is often part (not all) of what some teachers do with their classes. These books take that to an extreme, in order to promote an extreme engagement with the subject matter. For kids, the silliness can be VERY engaging indeed!
(Unlike our aunt’s school, we also do not have a problem with references to “millions of years.” We’re Bible-believing Evangelical Christians, but don’t teach a young-earth, anti-evolution interpretation.)
That said, these still aren’t our favorite books to read. In fact, Nicole says she can’t stand reading them! I think the reason they rub us the wrong way is that while there may not really be any active disrespect involved, neither is there much actual respect & care in Ms. Frizzle’s classroom. Where are the friendships? Where’s the community? These books are more joke & information than character & discovery. That’s fine as a component of a unit study, but it’s not really the model most homeschool families are trying to hold up to their kids.
Maybe science biographies would be more appealing to us…
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That’s for the information about the different series. We have enjoyed some of the Magic School Bus books, but I didn’t realize how they were grouped. I will return to this post I’m sure. Thanks for the thorough breakdown.
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My children have loved the MSB books! I think they do a good job of introducing science concepts to younger children. I know they ignited a love of science in my son.
I think Ms. Frizzle is an unusual teacher. My ps teacher hubby jokes that she somehow manages to get around NCLB without getting written up in her file. MSB books present in some ways a normal classroom (bickering, fear of change, childhood comparisons, Frizzle being the odd teacher). They also show children that learning can be hands-on and fun rather than the sterile environment they are used to in most ps classrooms.
Sometimes negative bits in books help the children to learn what is acceptable and what is not.