'The Magic School Bus' Creator Joanna Cole Has Died
The author of over 250 children’s books.
If you grew up in the ’90s it’s hard not to remember the spirited animated teacher Ms. Valerie Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. The vibrant character helped shape a generation of children in the North American education system, and on top of her famous line “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” the approach to learning taken from The Magic School Bus truly made learning fun for children.
Since the book franchise’s inception in 1986 (lasting until 2010) along with the classic animated TV series (1994-1997), the book series has sold over 90 million copies, with the characters in the series venturing anywhere from the center of the Earth, to even inside the human body — all thanks to the “Magic School Bus.” Sadly, it has just been reported that the creator of the series, Joanna Cole, has passed away at the age of 75.
With her death she leaves behind a legacy of over 250 children’s book, a licensed videogame, a progressive animated series, the new Netflix reboot, and an upcoming live-action film.
In Cole’s Scholastic profile she wrote: “My first book was Cockroaches. An article in the Wall Street Journal inspired me to do some research. I discovered that there had never been a children’s book written about cockroaches before. So I thought, why not? Plus, I had ample time to study that creature in my low-budget New York apartment!”
'The Magic School Bus' author Joanna Cole passed away on July 12, THR has learned https://t.co/Njc6ckytEI
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 15, 2020
