Ms. Frizzle's class visits a power plant to discover how electricity is made. And since no jaunt aboard the magic school bus is boring or even vaguely normal, this is no ordinary field trip. Suddenly encased in heat-proof suits, the children enter the plant in a load of coal. After sliding into the furnace, they travel through steam pipes, spin through the turbine, and shrink to near-electron size as they whiz along in power lines, making their way through town. Soon the children learn the uses of electricity from the inside of appliances. Spiced with plenty of puns and jokes, the writing and the colorful artwork continue the series' unbeatable combination of clearly presented information and plenty of fun. (Reviewed October 15, 1997)

On their latest trip, Ms. Frizzle's class follows electricity through high-voltage wires from a power plant to the public library (to explore electricity as a source of light), to Jo's Diner (where they enter the toaster to learn about heat), and finally to Phoebe's house (where they take a tour of the electric motor inside a power saw). The pages are replete with the usual jokes, class reports, and visual asides that extend the textual information.

The indomitable Ms. Frizzle is back for a lesson in electricity in this entertaining entry in the Magic School Bus series. The class begins with books, videos, experiments, and research reports; Ms. Frizzle, wearing a dress of geometric shapes, explains atoms and electrons, and, during an electrical storm, gets the students and her niece, Dottie, into the school bus to find out what's behind a power blackout. At a power plant, they learn how electricity is generated and how it travels. As in the other books in the series, this one doesn't cover everything, but it will stimulate interest; plenty of information is packed into the pages, and repeat readings are mandatory. (Picture book. 7-10)"

Gr 1-4--Ms. Frizzle and her science class take a trip through the town's power lines and discover how electricity works. Readers who go along for the ride will learn about how electricity is made in power plants, how transformers function, and about the differences in voltage. They will also find out how electricity makes heat and light. There is a brief mention made of how a TV works. Appropriate warnings about electricity are given. Dialogue balloons and Degen's colorful cartoon illustrations add humor. The book makes a complex subject fun to read about and simple to understand. It's bound to be a hit with the series' many fans.--Blair Christolon, Prince William Library, Manassas, VA