Professional Magic for Children

In 1976 I published a definitive textbook on entertaining children with magic. Maybe I should have titled it that! At that time I had been doing magic for 18 years, five of them full-time, and I had learned a lot from performing over 2000 live kidshows. Over a 23 year period, the book sold 7000 copies! Professional Magic for Children went on to influence magicians and clowns around the world, I have since learned. Why? I think because the book was based not on theory, but on my own performing experience doing about 400 shows yearly at schools, libraries, churches, and other family venues. In the 244 pages I discussed my philosophy of doing magic for children, show mechanics, and my methods of dealing with kidshow audiences. Furthermore, in the book I shared over a dozen successful routines I had used to make my living, which included Instant Art, Mis-Made Flag (taught in lectures 1999–2001), Clatterbox, the Snake Can (currently in my lectures), Arrowhead, Stocks of Zanzibar, Ching Soo Firecracker, Disecto (I’m still using it!), the Boy to Rabbit Illusion, and Duke’s Dye-Version (personally taught to me by Duke Stern and which I performed at Blackpool plus many other conventions). A special bonus of PMC is my chapter on working children’s birthday parties, complete with a description of my two birthday party shows I performed years ago. Add to that dozens of drawings and photos illustrating the magic and you have a first rate down-to-earth working TEXTBOOK ON KIDSHOW MAGIC. Out of print for five years in hardback, now Professional Magic for Children is back— in paperback with a FULL COLOR COVER—to share the fun side of entertaining children with a whole new generation of magicians and clowns. If you’ve never read this book (because you couldn’t get it), NOW is the time!