Bruce Degen, the author and artist who brought the Magic School Bus series of children’s books to life with his vivid illustrations, has died at 79.
Degen’s son, the artist Benjamin Degen, announced his father’s death in an email, writing, “Your thoughts, well wishes and memories helped to buoy his spirits and to turn his last weeks into a celebration.”
Bruce Degen, a Brooklyn native, was educated at Cooper Union and the Pratt Institute and taught art in New York public schools for more than two decades, beginning in the 1960s.
In 1977, he published his first book, Aunt Possum and the Pumpkin Man, which he wrote and illustrated. He would go on to illustrate dozens more books, some of which he also wrote, including Sailaway Home, I Gotta Draw, and Snow Joke.
But he would remain best known for contributing the art to Joanna Cole’s Magic School Bus books, which followed Ms. Frizzle, an eccentric elementary school teacher who takes her students on adventures to different time periods and places.
The first installment in the series, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, came out in 1986; 12 more books in the original series followed over the years. The books formed the basis for a popular animated television series featuring Lily Tomlin as Ms. Frizzle.
Degen’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On the platform X, author and literary agent Christie Megill wrote, “Bruce Degen was an extraordinary storyteller who helped shape so many of our earliest moments with his work. Last year, I had the opportunity to meet him & tell him personally how much his books meant to me. Remembering him & his art.”
And editor Regina Griffin posted, “On Facebook I learned that the cheerful, engaging, generous Bruce Degen has died. How I loved his books. And admired him.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
