How long does it take to make a Magic School Bus book?
Joanna: It usually takes me a year altogether. I spend six months reading and another six months writing. Bruce: My part of the project takes about six months – it takes a long time to do the sketches and get everything started, and then that all goes to several people who are experts who offer their suggestions. One of the biggest jobs is organizing everything on the page to make it clear and to show the major ideas. You can’t always tell how the story is working until you see the pages pictured, so sometimes we make changes once the book is illustrated. How do you do research for the Magic School Bus books? Joanna: I read 50 or 100 books and a lot of journal articles about a subject, and then I ask expert consultants about the subject. I become very smart about it. I visit the places the books focus on, but mostly I like to collect everything I can about the subject. As I start writing, I keep rereading the books and articles. My love in life is to research something and find the wor
