Hocus Pocus: A Tale of Magnificent Magicians

by Paul Kieve

Magic tricks to amaze your friends and stupefy your family from the magic consultant on the Harry Potter movies, with an introduction by Daniel Radcliffe.

From the magic consultant on the HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN movie comes a book of astounding (and astoundingly easy!) magic tricks. Author Paul Kieve takes would-be wizards through a parade of the world's top magicians - Harry Houdini, the Great Lafayette - and unveils how easy it is to perform their most spell-binding magic tricks. An introduction by Daniel Radcliffe makes this the fall must-have for all budding magicians and Harry Potter fans.

As Daniel Radcliffe says, "Step into the pages of HOCUS POCUS and prepare to be astonished!"

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Childrens, Magic

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[marie ✻ ✶ · Rating 3 out of 5]

— 3.5 ✨

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have all kinds of sub-genres of books that I love to read. It's no secret that fantasy is the genre I love most, but within that, one of the sub-topics I enjoy are books about magicians. If an author can take a novel about a real magician and meld that with some made-up details to put a good novel together, then I'm all over it (Carter Beats the Devil is a perfect example).

So when Cass came home from the school library with this book, I snatched it from her and read it first. A book about all the different famous magicians? COOL! Unfortunately, the only appealing thing about this novel was the topic. Kieve is NOT a writer. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I pretty much skimmed this, because reading it word for word would have been torture.

While you're given lots of great background information on these magicians, plus plenty of magic tricks to practice, the storyline itself is just terrible. Kieve really should've co-written this with someone -- someone with writing talent.

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel really bad giving this book two stars, as it seems like such a passion project for the author. However for me I felt it was quite badly written and constantly trying to tug the reader in different directions. Is it a magic trick manual? Is it a history of classic magicians? (This is probably what it does best.) Is it a piece of fiction involving 'Paul Kieve' living out his fantasies of owning a property with a garden IN CENTRAL LONDON?

The ending is quite abrupt, we don't get the sense that the protagonist has really developed through the course of the novel. The postcards at the end are a nice touch. I am really sorry, 2 stars!

[Jaden · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is a cool book that simultaneously has an interesting story teaches you some history on famous magicians and teaches you some tricks. it gets straight to the point and I definitely some cool facts about the old masters. each magician is unique and did some cool stuff in there lifetime. if you want to learn some of the history of magic or a few tricks this book is for you. but if you just want a good story i'd recommend something else.

[caramel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it a cute read. It's a story about an aspiring magician getting to meet famous magicians in history. Every famous magician gets one chapter where his/her history is told and s/he teaches the amateur one trick after performing something grand. I think describing magic tricks hard but I'm glad that the tricks here are written as simply as possible so it's easy to follow (there are pictures too)

[Kayla Randolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this desperately needed a final copy edit, I learned a lot from a children’s book about magic! The historical background on the magicians left me wanting to know more, but I see this as a pro rather than a con.

Also, props (ha) to any children who can successfully perform the tricks in here. There are instructions and illustrations yet I’m still baffled by a few of them!

[Gowri Vijayan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved It!!! Took me back to my childhood days filled with Hogwarts and MaGic :)

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just liked the magic tricks in the back!

[:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

found this to be an okay cool cute story about a magician meeting other famous magicians in order to help him become better

[_Shay_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really made me want to he a magician when I was younger

[Sophia Ju · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its really informative, but it still tells a good story.

[Kaelen · Rating 5 out of 5]

awsome

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this because I'm currently working on a story that involves an illusionist, and as I don't know squat about magic, I've been reading about it a bit. This wasn't quite what I expected ~ while it talks about the lives of famous past magicians, it does so in a story format, weaving fact and fiction together so that you're not quite sure which is which.

The premise is Paul Kieve is a budding magician whose home is decorated with promotional posters from the greatest magicians of all time. When he wants to learn magic, these magicians come to life through the posters and perform their best shows for him, then teach him simple tricks kids can do in their own home (this is a children's book, after all). Along the way, the reader learns a little about each magician's life, and the back section of the book contains 35 additional magic tricks for kids to learn.

While this is interesting, I would've liked to know more about how the magicians performed their biggest feats ~ making people levitate and disappear, for instance, not just parlor tricks and slight of hand. But the book's bibliography provides a great starting point for more information, so I'll track down some of those older titles and hope I can learn more about the science of magic and the lives of these magicians. I don't think that will pertain to my story so much anymore, but it's becoming interesting to me beyond that and I'd like to learn more.

[Animegeek13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book many times, and love it every time. I picked it up awhile ago because I was interested in magic, and I still love this book. I adore this book both because it is written well and because it really does teach about magic. It really isn't geared towards adults or kids, so someone of any age can read it. One of my favorite things about it though, is that it explains how to do the tricks that were performed. Most, if not all, of the tricks are easy to reproduce but some can get a little messy, such as An Ionian Snowstorm. The book is written very well, the interactions feel natural and human, the characters are very developed. Overall, Paul Kieve outdid himself with this one.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

About an amateur magician whose antique posters come to life, allowing famous magicians of the past to tutor him in his art.

I read this with my ten year old boy. I quite enjoyed it. He was ecstatic about it. The author cleverly weaves in the history of each of the magicians as well instructions for over 30 tricks you can try at home. It also comes vintage reproductions of cards with optical illusions on them. Definitely worth buying if you have a child that enjoys magic.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my eleven-year-old son, who gave it five stars. Kieve has come up with a really clever idea here, and presented it well. In short, an aspiring magician is visited by the famous magicians depicted in the posters on his wall when they briefly come to life and teach him a magic trick or two. The biographies of the magicians and their magic tricks are woven together with the story of the young Kieve.

[Ella the Mermaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for all fans of magic of almost all ages. It includes easy, mesmerizing, cool, tricks that are super fun to do. It also teaches you more about actual magic and the greatest magicians of all time. Funny, interesting, helpful, this is definitely a book that should be read. Even the book itself is cool because it has a magical, mysterious vibe to it's thick, brown, 'booky', cover.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

lemme be real here i read this when i was in 3rd grade and spent my entire middle/high school years looking for this book... i obv found it a couple of years back but it suddenly crossed my mind that i hadn't thought about this book in a while so now i'm reviewing it because i can't bear to lose it again and have to spent an entire like six years searching for it again

[Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

in this book you learn magic tricks and other fun stuff. but it is about a boy who wants to learn magic and is being taught by famous magicians. i rate this book 2 out of 5 because i did not like it all to very well but i think some one els will love it Q1:#4

[Elegale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally found this book!!! I read this book in 2012 and can't remember the name. I could only remember magicians in posters come to life and teaches a man how to do tricks. But the book, I also remembered, was interesting and creatively amazing.
And YES!!! I've finally found it!

[Miss Trambolika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha entretenido bastante. Cada capítulo va de un mago famoso de la historia y sus famosos trucos. Aparte de que enseñan como hacer alguno.
De niña me habría encantado un libro así.
Al final incluye unas 20 páginas o así con trucos fáciles para aprender y recortables.