Wizards and Magicians

NATIONAL MAGIC DAY is March 24 – that is, Harry Houdini’s birthday.

	David A. Adler’s A Picture Book of Harry Houdini (Holiday House, 2010) – one of Adler’s extensive Picture Book Biography series – is a simple 32-page biography for ages 5-8, with rich color illustrations.
	Kathleen Krull’s Houdini: World’s Greatest Mystery Man and Escape King (Walker & Company, 2007) is a dramatic picture-book biography for ages 6-10 that gives a sense of Houdini’s showmanship. (“Welcome! Enter! Prepare to be dazzled!” the book begins.) Biographical information is interspersed with framed descriptions of Houdini’s most famous tricks.
	Sid Fleischman’s Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini (Greenwillow, 2006), a photo-illustrated biography for ages 9-14, tells how young Ehrich Weiss, a poor Jewish boy from Budapest, Hungary, managed to transform himself into one of the greatest magicians of all time, capable of making elephants disappear and escaping from high-security lock-ups at Scotland Yard. A fascinating addendum describes Fleishman’s own visits with Madame Houdini.
	Brian Selznick’s The Houdini Box (Atheneum, 2008), a fiction book for ages 7-11, pairs the story of Houdini with that of ten-year-old Victor, who yearns to be a magician. After a chance encounter with Houdini, Victor visits his house – only to learn that the great man has just died. He has, however, left Victor a mysterious box – which just may hold the secret to Houdini’s famous escapes.
	I, Houdini (Yearling, 2003) by Lynne Reid Banks is the tale of Houdini’s most unusual namesake: a brilliant hamster escape artist who – leaving chaos in his wake – eventually pulls off the ultimate escape and sets out to explore the great outdoors. A fun and funny read for ages 8-11.
	Laurie Carlson’s Harry Houdini for Kids (Chicago Review Press, 2009) is an informational activity book on the life and times of the world’s most famous magician and escape artist, illustrated with wonderful period prints and photographs. The accompanying “21 Magic Tricks and Illusions” include learning to tie a magic knot, tackling the Magic Key trick, building a box kite, cracking a secret code, writing an invisible message, and whipping up a batch of ectoplasm. A helpful resource list includes supplementary reading suggestions and related web sites to explore. For ages 9 and up.
	From PBS’s American Experience series, Houdini has a film transcript, video clips, a gallery of Houdini posters, a timeline of Houdini’s life, and associated background information.
	The Library of Congress American Memory project has a Houdini biography linked to historical images from the Library’s collection.