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Lost in the Solar System |
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The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System (shortened to Lost in the Solar System) is the fourth book in the original 1986–2021 book series. It was published in 1990.
This starts the trend of outer space field trips, and marks the first appearance of Arnold’s rebellious paternal cousin, Janet Perlstein.
Plot[]
Arnold's cousin, Janet, joins Ms. Frizzle's class for the class trip to the planetarium. But after arriving to find that planetarium is closed for repairs, the Frizz decides to launch the bus into space and steers it around the solar system, visiting the moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars before an asteroid knocks out one of the taillights.
When Ms. Frizzle leaves the bus to investigate, her tether breaks. She gets left behind in the asteroid belt, and the students visit the outer planets (including Pluto) without her.
With Janet's quick thinking and use of supply, the class manages to turn the bus around, reconnect with Ms. Frizzle and return to the classroom, making a chart and mobile based on their discoveries.
Trivia[]
General[]
- This book includes the franchise’s first space field trip. This trip in general and the cover art of the book also inspired the franchise’s famous NASA meatball-style logo.
- It was loosely adapted into “Gets Lost in Space” and The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System.
- Almost every season of the TV series includes at least one field trip to space. The only one out of the seven that does not have one was Season 3 of the original series.
- This is the first book of the '90s. Four years later, the TV series and In the Time of the Dinosaurs would debut.
- The cover art could be a shoutout to the British rock band Def Leppard's debut album, On through the Night (1990), which features a Mack truck flying past the Moon in a similar way to how the Bus is zooming past Saturn.
- This book is featured in the book promo for seasons 1 and 2 of the Magic School Bus TV series.
- In the republished version, the Bus had ZOOM! as its overhead sign.
- On page 23, Arnold's thought bubble reads, “I really prefer filmstrips,” in the original 1990 release. In releases since 1997, he says, "I really prefer video games." This could probably be referencing The Magic School Bus video game series, or just the popularity of video games in general.
- This book (as the republished edition) was one of the Magic School Bus classic titles to be released as an e-book on LeapFrog devices.
- In the end of the book, there are fun facts and warnings, which evolved into producer segments. The warning tells readers that they must never try to take a trip into space on a real school bus (as it reads, "DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS TRIP ON YOUR OWN SCHOOL BUS!"). Some examples given are the facts that attaching rockets to a school bus upsets authorities, because a real school bus never could go to outer space. And even if it did, it could not travel the whole solar system in such a short time, it would mean children spending years away from home. The latter example was noted by the Plutonian alien in the Producer segment for "Gets Lost in Space." The final note states: "ON THE OTHER HAND, if a red haired teacher (in a funny dress) shows up at your school --START PACKING!", also referenced in "All Dried Up" in the Field Trip Survival Guide when the class leaves the desert and heads back to Walkerville.
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v - e - d The Magic School Bus book series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen | ||||||
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