Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and Illusions

For Kids

by Laurie Winn Carlson

From his impoverished childhood to his feat of becoming one of the most successful entertainers of all time, this fascinating biography presents a memorable portrait of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini. Guidelines for 21 fun magic tricks are also provided, including how to stick a needle into a balloon without popping it, how to step through a note card, and how to make a coin vanish. Illustrating the science and logic behind many of Houdini's most notable acts, the magic-based activities also explain his famous Milk Can Escape through an accessible water displacement experiment and demonstrate simple mathematics with his Odd Number Trick. Touching on his time as an actor, an aviator, and possibly even a spy for the U.S. government, this thoroughly entertaining biography also features a time line, curriculum links for educators, and books and websites for further exploration.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, Harry Houdini began with card tricks and simple magic acts. Gradually he developed his talents as an escape artist, which became his signature act. (PG. 2)

This was an over-sized paperback made for interested kids. I loved the old school billboards and the black and white pictures. Also included, were 21 magic tricks and illusions. I think kids will have fun learning about Houdini in this book and his crazy personality was shown through. An added plus were the random side facts about anything related to magic, not necessarily Houdini.

I hope Laurie Carlson expands her ..... For Kids Series in this similar fashion.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Houdini's Birthday recently occurred and I couldn't resist checking out this book...
This is a great resource that explores Houdini's life, some of his famous tricks and some truly unique tricks that will impress kids, their grown-up's and their friends.

Magical indeed!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the magic books my eight-year-old son checked out from the library a few weeks ago, this one was my favorite. The magic tricks are great. The text is intriguing. And the illustrations are fantastic.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical books filled with facts and illusions.

[Louise Bendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best parts of this biography for kids are the actual photographs, the explanations of how Houdini accomplished some of his amazing magical feats, and the stories and history of other magicians of the time - the "Electric girls" & fire-eaters. Find out how Houdini performed his death-defying milk can escape, how the Russian Roanov family invited him to stay in Russia as their advisor, how he worked with the US Secret Service to expose coded messages. Houdini was magical!

[Jessica López-Barkl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun book to read and, basically, gave me all the information I need to know about Harry Houdini for the direction of RAGTIME. It also provided me with some ideas for magic tricks and (even) a recipe for dinner tonight...Harry's last meal...

This is a great book for adult and young adults... It has lots of projects for young people and some nice science projects for K-6 teachers...

All in all, a good book...