My science-loving eight-year-old son really enjoys reading books from the Magic School Bus series, and the topic and plot line of this one engaged him as well. But early into the book, he was asking me about nearly every other word. When I looked more carefully, I realized the reading level was higher than other books he had read in the series and many of the facts were things I had learned in junior high. I decided to take over, reading the book to him and explaining many of the topics in more detail. Don't get me wrong -- he really enjoyed the book and learned some "cool" new things about the senses. It just wouldn't have made much sense without my involvement.

The Magic School Bus brings another cute story into print this year with Exploring the Senses. The story is somewhat predictable - the bus shrinks and children pop in-and-out of various parts of the body. But the basic explanations of the senses is good. Children ages 8 and older will learn about hair cells, smell cells, taste cells and rods and cones. The topics are a bit broad and children may need to read it several times to understand the science concepts. No experiments are included (unless you have a magic bus!). However, children will learn that we have many sensory cells and that each of these cells sends nerve signals to the big decoder - the brain. (From The Science Spiders(TM) Newsletter).

This book is based on the television show the magic school bus, with Mrs. Frizzle. The book contains great factual illustrations for the reader. The students of Mrs. Frizzle's class are learning about the senses so they get into their magic school bus and shrink down, and go into a students nose and from there they continue to the other sensory organs. I like the format of this book because it is very active instead of reading from a textbook the children can get the same information but have fun while they are learning. I also like hands on activities and this is as close as hands on with a book as you can get. It also gives small science experiments and reports that the class has written for the child to read. The author has such great imagination and brings the fun back into learning science.

The info in this book doesn't follow the Bible facts about the creation of Earth, man and animals. Be careful using this book. Make sure it follows an explaination to your youngster about Bible truths. This is a FICTION book and not based on facts.

There are so many "info-narrative" books about dinosaurs for children I was disappointed in this one. I am sorry to be the dissenting opinion but I am not impressed with this book. I would use a different book.

It is not surprising that this is one of the best-selling children`s science series`. My five-year-old loves the pictures and story, while the seven-year-old also appreciates the plethora of facts, as well. The engaging and humorous text is packed with information and complemented by lively and amusing illustrations. The boys love the cartoon bubbles and the short "reports" by the kids in the story. The indomitable teacher, Ms Frizzle and her morphing wardrobe challenges her students on these amazing fieldtrips.

IN THE TIME OF THE DINOSAURS is about: dinosaurs and fossils. Obviously too broad a subject to cover thoroughly in this slim volume, but there`s plenty to whet the appetite. There is a real paleontologist at a real dig. And the bus turns into a time machine. The colorful charts and final class display keep us in perspective. The kids always have questions about something. Thank you Ms Frizzle, Ms Cole, and Mr Degen for answering and encouraging them.

I was disappointed in this book. My son and I have truly enjoyed the other books in the Magic School Bus series. They are educational and entertaining. This one, however, goes on and on and on before it eventually gets to a volcano. Poor show.