The
Magic School Bus®
in the Time of the Dinosaurs
Joanna Cole (1944- )
and Bruce Degen (1945- )
The Magic School Bus in the Time of the
Dinosaurs,
like other volumes in the series, uses a variety of text and picture
elements
to present a coherent, smooth-flowing story, provide accurate
scientific
knowledge, and entertain with humor. Often these various
functions
are segregated into different elements - e.g. the dialogue balloons are
one of the major vehicles for verbal humor, while the short science
reports
ostensibly written by the students in Ms. Frizzle's class are important
sources of factual information.
The book's organization, with several different
kinds of information being presentedin various ways on each page, is
consistent
with interactive learning skills developed in the Internet age.
Children
rarely read these books straight through, covering every word and
picture
on the page before proceeding to the next; instead, they will revisit
the
book at different times and focus on different elements. Adults
reading
the book aloud to children can establish the continuity of the book by
reading only the main text and word balloons; in such cases, the child
listening may observe some of the separate elements on his or her own.
The following chart describes the various kinds
of text or illustration and their most common uses:
| Kind of Text/Illustration | Characteristics | Used for: | Function in book |
| Main narration | Typeset | Narration and some dialogue (only that which is necessary to advance the story) | 1. Sustain continuity
2. Provide basic facts about subject |
| Word/thought balloons | Hand lettered with light-yellow background | Dialogue; internal thoughts | 1. Humor
2. Story development 3. Present additional facts (Ms. Frizzle) |
| Student "papers" | Hand lettered on "notebook paper"; inset in upper corners of two-page spread | Factual reports ("sound bites") | 1. Focus on specific
aspects of subject 2. Define terms (Dorothy Ann) |
| Diagrams | Hand-drawn; inset in corners of picture | Time charts | Orientation of reader |
| Identification boxes/labels | Hand lettered on pink background | Labeling pictures | 1. Define terms
(dinosaur names) 2. Identify specific features of fossil site (pp. 12-15) |
| Book titles (p. 6) | Single-sentence statements about dinosaurs | Basic information | |
| Time chart (p. 16) | Hand lettered | Overview of time periods | Orientation of reader |
| Information boxes | Separate panels at sides of pictures | Additional information about dinosaur types, etc. | 1. Background
information 2. Focus on specific aspects (e.g., teeth) |
| "Dinosaurs are special" boxes | Hand-lettered on "stone plaques" at sides of picture | Distinguishing dinosaurs from modern reptiles and other animals | Focus on specific aspects of subject |
| Inset maps and descriptions of earth | Inset in upper corner (pp. 17, 23, 32, 42) | Describing environment in each era | Background information |
Note that extra illustrations outside the text
itself
tend to reinforce what happens in the story - the opening scene,
even before the title page, shows Ms. Frizzle receiving a letter
inviting
her class to the fossil dig, and the final panel shows Ms. Frizzle and
Jeff brushing the dinosaur's teeth (bringing to completion a thread
about
teeth that runs through the entire book).
The two concluding panels showing the author's and
the artist's desks help to clarify the invented parts of the story by
pointing
out aspects of fantasy (author's desk), providing some final
information
(author's computer - "Birds are the dinosaurs of today"), and
demonstrating
revisions in scientific thinking (artist's desk - the dinosaurs'
stance,
the stegosaurus plate arrangement).
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Page updated July 15, 2004