by Bryan Patrick Avery As a magician, I’ve always believed the best magic tricks are the ones where the spectator experiences the magic first hand. A great example of this is the sponge balls trick. I hold a red sponge ball in my fist and give one to the spectator to hold in theirs. With a snap of my fingers, the ball flies (invisibly) from my fist into the spectator’s. I open my hand, and the ball is gone. The spectator opens their hand and they have two balls. The amazement and wonder they get when they see that the ball has traveled to their hand is the same feeling I strive to give readers when I write. Like magic, books have the power to expose us to things we might not otherwise experience. In short, books are magic, too.
We all hear that kids “read up”, meaning that younger readers like to read about older kids. That, I think, is part of the magic of reading. My daughter just finished fifth grade and is headed on to middle school next. She’s spent the year reading about middle school kids like Karma Cooper and loves learning about what middle school will be like.
Whether it’s preparing for the transition to middle school, learning to understand a culture different from our own, or imagining life somewhere far away from home, books can give us experiences we might only dream about. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s magic.
4 Comments
Natinder Ferrer Manak
7/1/2016 01:56:59 pm
Books are a kind of magic.
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7/1/2016 02:21:43 pm
Bryan, I'm so honored to be included here! I think magic and children's books definitely go together! As a kid a lot of my favorite books had the word magic in the title--like the Magic Buttons. Then there's the Magic Tree House series. Have you read Gail Carson Levine's Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly? It's written for young writers but grown-ups like it too!
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7/1/2016 05:25:54 pm
Thank you for including Imani's Moon in this blog post, Brian! I had such a wonderful time illustrating JaNay's book and researching the Maasai tribe and imagining the magic of their legends. Best, Hazel Mitchell.
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Sue Edson
7/1/2016 05:54:49 pm
Bryan, I really enjoyed this article. Very nice! I'll definitely check out some of these books! :)
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First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.
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