The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor is the fifth book in the original book series, about undersea life. It released in the United States in 1992.
Plot[]
During a heat wave, Ms. Frizzle's class is doing a project on the ocean and learning about the kinds of animals and plants that live there. Of course, a field trip to the ocean is in her plan book. The next day, she gathers her students prepared for a day at the beach, and they board the bus, and to their surprise they go on an adventurous trip to the ocean floor, while unwittingly bringing along Lenny: a bumbling lifeguard. All listen as she informs them about the geologic strata they pass, the flora and fauna at the various depths, the unique independence of the undersea world, and how its survival depends upon humankind's actions on land. At last, they end up surfing the bus on a high wave back to the beach they had started from. Back at school, the class prepares a bulletin board of everything they learned about the ocean.
This is the first time in which Ralph is referred to as his new name, Ralphie.
In the 1997 publishing, the Bus's overhead sign says GO FISH.
On page 38, when the photographer asks the kids: “Tell me, does your teacher always dress like that?”, Shirley responds with “Not always… sometimes she looks totally outrageous.” This Q&A is referenced in "Gets Lost in Space" by the Perlsteincousins.
This was the first book to mention Joanna Cole's dog, Muffy.
This book was featured as a prop in the 1994 Disney film The Santa Clause. Coincidentally, this movie was released the same year as the next book, The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs.
At the end of this book, there is a multiple-choice test, and Lenny is on the answer page.
Coincidentally, the correct answers form the abbreviation for the British television programming block BBC (British Broadcasting Company).
v - e - dThe Magic School Bus book series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
