Magic School Bus

The Academy’s The Magic School Bus Takes a Risk: A Book about Probability is back in stock and ready for you to order today. In this custom-designed book for the Academy, Ms. Frizzle leads an adventure-filled field trip where the children meet Maxine, an actuary. Together, they explore how actuaries help people understand and lessen risk for the community.

The American Academy of Actuaries worked with Scholastic, well-known and regarded throughout schools in the U.S., to create this custom story that aims to support diversity in the actuarial profession by emphasizing the career possibilities that arise from math education.

In 2018, the Academy donated 45,000 copies of the book to Grades 3-5 students in Washington, D.C., public schools. Teachers received a classroom box kit, delivered by Scholastic, that included the storybook; a letter to parents on the inside cover; and a teacher flyer with lesson plan suggestions.

SHIPPING

Each book is $4, plus a flat shipping rate of $3 for one to five books and $4.50 for six to 10 books. Please anticipate up to four weeks for your order to arrive. To place a bulk order for more than 10 copies, please email msb@actuary.org.

Also please note that your books will ship to the address listed in your member profile. Email msb@actuary.org if you would like your order to ship to an alternate address.

Tag us in your posts and photos of your ‘Magic School Bus’ readers

If you’ve given a copy of this actuarial adventure to someone in your life, we’d love to see a picture of the youngster in action. Tag us when sharing your photos for a chance to have your image shared on the Academy social media accounts.

Thanks for supporting the Academy’s efforts at promoting interest in being an actuary in school-age children.

An Academy Member Shares His "Magic School Bus" Story

Jim, an Academy member, shared this story about the impact of “The Magic School Bus Takes a Risk” for his grandson.

My grandson, Walter, had his preschool graduation “ceremony” last week. At the graduation, each child gets his/her moment in the sun to answer a few questions. They prepare for this by asking the children the questions a week or two ahead of time, and helping the child put the answers in writing. One of the questions asked what you want to be when you grow up. For Walter, they wrote down “firefighter.”

When they asked that question at the ceremony, there were quite a few firefighters, the obligatory ballerina, a couple of doctors, etc. When they got to Walter, we all expected firefighter. Instead, he paused a moment, then said “actuary.” The crowd literally gasped.

But there’s a twist here. Walter likes math—at his preschool, the other kids call him the math guy. For Easter, I gave Walter a book for a present. He started reading it a couple of weeks ago—with some help—and he really liked it. And like many preschoolers, when he finds a book he likes, he reads it over and over again. Based on the book, not on his grandfather, he’s decided that being an actuary is the right career for him. The book is “The Magic School Bus Takes a Risk.”

Do you have a story to share? Email msb@actuary.org to let us know about the impact this book has made on a child in your life and join The Academy in helping the next generation get excited about the actuarial profession.