Date: Fri 13-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A12

Quick Words:

Magic-Bus-Cole-Degen-Book

Full Text:

(story on Magic School Bus book signing event at Book Review, 9/13/96)

Over 500 "Magic School Bus" Books Autographed-

Ms Frizzle & Liz Added Fun To Book Review Party

(with photos)

By Shannon Hicks

Anyone not quite sure where The Magic School Bus would be stopping last

Saturday afternoon in Newtown just needed to know its general destination: One

of the stores at Sand Hill Plaza. The Bus - as well as red-headed teacher Ms

Frizzle, class pet Liz the Lizard, author Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce

Degen - made a stop at The Book Review on Route 25 for what turned out to be

the book store/cafe's most popular Magic School Bus book-signing event to

date.

The September 7 book signing party was held in honor of the release of The

Magic School Bus Inside A Beehive , the teams' newest Magic School Bus

adventure. ...Inside A Beehive also marks the ten-year anniversary of Magic

School Bus books being published, so the party was for a few celebratory

reasons.

The latest adventure of Ms Frizzle, a science teacher who loves her work, and

her classroom of students who travel on a magical bus that transforms into

different shapes and sizes, takes the characters into the lives of honey bees.

Children reading the book learn about the different roles of bees within the

hive, how hives are created, why flowers are important to bees and how honey

is made, and how honey is gathered from bee hives by bee farmers.

Ms Cole and Mr Degen credited Mark Richardson with being a huge help for their

new book. Mr Richardson, a resident of Sandy Hook, took the author and

illustrator to his beehives at his in-laws' home in New Canaan so the two

could see what they would be writing about up close. Mr Richardson explained

the process of honey-making, and even smoked out a beehive for the two.

In-depth research like this is what has gone into making each of the seven

Magic School Bus books in the main series (Scholastic also publishes books

based on the PBS "Magic School Bus" cartoon series) so accurate and

up-to-date.

Nearly 600 books were autographed by the author and illustrator in just over

two hours on Saturday. Book Review store manager Bill Sullivan said this

number was by far the largest number of books the collaborative team has

signed in one sitting in the three years The Book Review has been hosting

Magic School Bus events.

Children and their parents began arriving at the store around 12:30 Saturday

afternoon, some bringing with them past releases in the Magic School Bus

series, while most who came out during the rain-soaked afternoon purchased

their books on site.

The Book Review had also allowed nearly forty books to be sold prior to the

event ("presolds"), which were signed by the author and illustrator later in

the afternoon. These books would be picked up by their owners at a later date.

Author Cole and illustrator Degen were set up at a table near the front

entrance to the store, with a large cardboard cut-out of the character Ms

Frizzle to one side of their table and an adorable drawing by Mr Degen of

himself transformed into a bee on the opposite side of the table. Children

were allowed to roam throughout the store, looking at the drawings up close or

pick up copies of other Magic School Bus (or other) books, or wait patiently

with their parents in line.

Also keeping everyone entertained was Ms Frizzle herself, who was situated in

the yellow school bus parked outside the store's main entrance. Ms Frizzle -

with her fiery red hair and unmistakable, silly fashion sense - welcomed

children to visit her on her school bus (which was not transforming into

anything magical that day...), handed out Magic School Bus posters, and

offered autographs and smiles for every child who visited her.

Classroom pet Liz the Lizard was also at the party, alternating between being

inside the store and on the school bus, always to the delight of the children.

By 1:30 (the event ran from 1 to 3) the line for the excited autograph-seekers

stretched clear to the back of the store and even began winding between some

of the stacks of books. At 2:30, representatives of Scholastic, the book

series' publisher, decided to cut off the number of people who were joining

the line for autographs. But ultimately, no one was left without the autograph

they had gone hunting for.

Once the end of the line was marked, copies of The Magic School Bus Inside A

Beehive were still being sold. Parents were then asked to leave their name and

telephone number, along with the name of who the book was being signed for,

inside their copy of the book. Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen would work their

way through the presolds and the later books sold Saturday afternoon at a

later time, and the book store would contact everyone when their books were

ready.