Bruce Degen, an acclaimed author and illustrator beloved for his work on the Magic School Bus book series, has passed away. He was 79 years old.
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Degan died on November 7 at his home in Newtown, Connecticut, due to pancreatic cancer, as confirmed by his family per People.
Degen was born on June 14, 1945, in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He showed an early talent for art and attended the High School of Art & Music, now LaGuardia High School, in New York City.
Degen earned his bachelor’s degree in art from Cooper Union in 1966 and later obtained his master’s degree from Pratt Institute in 1975. While pursuing freelance illustration, he also served as an art teacher in New York City.
In 1977, Degen wrote and illustrated his first book, Aunt Possum and the Pumpkin Man. He later illustrated several notable works, including Malcolm Hall’s Forecast (1977), Jane Yolen’s Commander Toad in Space(1980), and Nancy White Colstrom’s Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? (1986). In 1982, he created the beloved children’s classic Jamberry.
Bruce Degen Creates ‘The Magic School Bus’ with Writer Joanna Cole
In 1984, publisher Scholastic paired illustrator Degen with writer Joanna Cole to create the iconic Magic School Bus series. The series launched in 1986 with The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks and follows the quirky teacher Ms. Frizzle as she takes her students on exciting field trips to amazing places like outer space, the ocean, and the human body. The books are designed to teach young readers lessons in biology, physics, and earth science. Cole passed away in 2020 at the age of 75.
“Truthfully, in the beginning, it was darn hard work. All that research, all that struggling to juggle the components, all that rewriting and resketching — some book sketch dummies have five layers of rewrites and reillustrations,” Degen admitted to Science.org in 2020. “But working all those years with Joanna, what we got to do together … what more could you ask for?”
Of course, the Magic School Bus books have achieved remarkable success. They sold over 95 million copies worldwide, per the New York Times. They are also available in print across 13 countries.
The beloved series was adapted into a popular PBS animated show featuring Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle. It aired from 1994 to 1997. Additionally, the franchise continued with the Netflix series The Magic School Bus Rides Again, which ran from 2017 to 2021.
Degen also wrote and illustrated the 2012 children’s book I Gotta Draw.
Degen is survived by his wife, Christine, whom he married in 1968, along with their sons, Benjamin and Alex.