Discovering the Magic in Children's Books

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.

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”.

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.
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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.