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Discovering the Magic in Children's Books

7/1/2016

4 Comments

 
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.​
I recently had the opportunity to read Janay Brown-Wood’s picture book “Imani’s Moon”, illustrated by Hazel Mitchell.  It’s the story of young Maasi girl named Imani who wants to do something truly great and sets out to try to touch the moon. 
The story is beautifully written and illustrated, but what I love most about the book is that it provides a glimpse into a culture most would never know about or be exposed to.  Through the book, though, we can experience for short time what it would be like to be in the Maasi tribe.  It’s a unique experience, made accessible by Brown-Woods gift.  In a word: magic.

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Another example of book’s ability to give us a unique experience is the Moon Base Alpha series from Stuart Gibbs. A young boy named Dashiell Gibson is among the first humans to live on the moon.  It’s instant magic.  As readers, we are given the opportunity to experience, through Dashiell and the other “Moonies”, what it would be like to live in a base on the moon.  
In the first book of the series, “Space Case”, Dashiell is quick to let us know that moon living is not as glamourous as we think.  Between the lack of gravity and the horrible freeze-dried food, normal everyday activities become laborious.  And let’s not forget the toilet situation.  Most unpleasant. Still, we want to keep reading because we don’t the experience to end. 
We don’t have to be transported to another time or place, to experience something unique and different though.  
My 10-year-old daughter just finished Hillary Homzie’s “Queen of Likes”.  It’s the story of Karma Cooper, seventh grader whose parents strip her of her cell phone when she abuses it.  Karma had become very popular on a social media site called SnappyPic, and believes her phone is her life.  Losing the phone drives her to see (and live) life a little differently. 
My daughter was fascinated by the prospect of living life without technology (it’s almost impossible to separate her from her tablet) and couldn’t stop reading. In fact, when she finished “Queen of Likes”, she pulled out her tablet to go online to find another Hillary Homzie book to read.  Like magicians, every writer wants to hear “show me another one”.
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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.

Reply
Hillary Homzie link
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!

Reply
Hazel Mitchell link
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.

Reply
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! :)

Reply



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    Meet the Friday Blogonauts

    First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    Second Fridays will feature  awesome multi-award winning author Marsha Diane Arnold who will be writing about character-driven and/or nature-based books and/or anything she likes :)

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    Fourth Fridays will feature the great Christine Taylor-Butler who has published over 70 award-winning fiction and non-fiction and nonfiction books including the acclaimed new middle grade series - The Lost Tribes.

    Fifth Fridays will feature the fabulous Carl Angel award-winning multi-published Illustrator and graphic designer.


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  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
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    • Our Bookshop
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    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship