Bruce Degen, Illustrator of The Magic School Bus, Dies at 79

Among his many achievements, Degen is best remembered for his visual execution of the main character in that series, a science teacher named Ms. Frizzle, brought boldly to life with bright red, frizzy hair and an outlandish wardrobe, whose every class was an amazing new adventure thanks to her shape-shifting mode of transportation. He and Cole collaborated on 14 books in the original series of books published between 1986 and 2021. The books spawned two television iterations, the first launched on PBS in 1994 and the second, "The Magic School Bus Rides Again" and 3 original specials launched on Netflix in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The success of the books and television shows inspired a plethora of spin-off titles, games and TV tie-ins. As of today, there are more than 95 million Magic School Bus books in print in 13 countries around the world; and Scholastic Entertainment and 9 Story Media are currently in development on a new CG-animated series called "The Magic School Bus: Mighty Explorers" with a live action feature film planned as well.

Says Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade Publishing, "We're sorry to hear of the passing of our long-time friend, Bruce Degen, but grateful for the amazing legacy of brilliant illustrations that he left us in The Magic School Bus series. His hilarious take on Ms. Frizzle and her madcap adventures in science are now considered icons of modern children's classics thanks to the exuberance of his endearing renderings." Added David Levithan, SVP, Editorial Director, "The joy that you find on every page of The Magic School Bus comes directly from the immense joy Bruce expressed in creating the art, inspired by Joanna's playfully informative words. He took such mischievous delight in the characters, and was up for any challenge the science threw his way, whether it involved wandering the vastness of space or focusing on the evolution of an amoeba. He was a craftsman in the best sense, always looking for new ways to expand the visual language of the series while staying true to its heart. I am sure that the joy of it all is something generation after generation of young readers will get to experience whenever they hop on board."

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Bruce Degen received a bachelor's degree in art from Cooper Union in 1966 and a master's degree in art from Pratt Institute, and later worked as an art teacher in New York City public Schools for many years. In addition to his decades of work on The Magic School Bus, he is also remembered for writing and illustrating Jamberry (HarperCollins) and illustrating the Commander Toad series (Coward-McCann) with author Jane Yolen, among many others. In 2012, he wrote and illustrated I Gotta Draw (HarperCollins), a slightly autobiographical tale about Charlie, a puppy, whose teacher lets him draw in the middle of class.

Degen lived and worked in Newtown, Connecticut and is survived by his wife Chris, and their two sons Benjamin and Alex.

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Seale Ballenger

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