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| Author | Joanna Cole |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Bruce Degen |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Magic School Bus |
| Genre | Educational fiction |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
Publication date | July 24, 1986 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) also audiobook |
| Pages | 40 |
| ISBN | 0-590-40360-5 |
| OCLC | 33843132 |
| Followed by | The Magic School Bus inside the Earth |
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks is the first book in The Magic School Bus classic series books. Written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, it is a picture book and introduces most of the main characters of the series, including Ms. Frizzle, Arnold, Dorothy Ann, Ralphie (called "Ralph" in the book), Tim, Wanda and Liz as well as several students who did not appear in the TV series or any other multimedia outside of the original series books. Carlos, Keesha and Phoebe do not appear in this book, though a student called "John" in the book bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Carlos.
The book depicts the class's first field trip with Ms. Frizzle. Despite the title, the bus is not depicted as directly causing the strange events of the field trip as it would be in later books and the television series. In this book, strange events just seem to happen with no explanation and continue to happen after the kids leave the bus in a cloud.