Harry Houdini repeatedly amazed audiences around the globe with his death-defying acts and illusions. With his wife, Bess, often by his side, he freed himself from ropes, handcuffs, and prison cells. Though Harry was always intrigued by magic, his life was not always so glamorous. His family was extremely poor, and as a boy he shined shoes to help them make ends meet. Yet a career in magic was always in the cards. Readers will be mesmerized by this captivating picture book biography.
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From School Library Journal
Grade 1–3—From Houdini's humble beginnings to international superstardom, this picture-book biography presents the highlights of the magician's life. Deeply hued illustrations, heavy with red and black tones, are well suited to the subject and give the text added drama and depth. Careful research is reflected in the quotations that are fully attributed and an authors' note describing historical discrepancies that exist with regard to Houdini's background. Events are detailed in a straightforward, mostly chronological arrangement that makes the book easy to follow for beginning readers. Kathleen Krull's Houdini (Walker, 2007), also a picture-book biography but written for slightly older children, is more successful in capturing Houdini's unique spirit and personal oddities.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A thorough and well-researched introduction to this fascinating figure." (Booklist )
"Deeply hued illustrations, heavy with red and black tone, are well suited to the subject." (School Library Journal )
"Deeply hued illustrations, heavy with red and black tone, are well suited to the subject." (School Library Journal )
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More About the Author
I write both fiction and non-fiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Andy Russell is based, loosely, on a beloved member of my family. He's fun to write about and the boy who inspired the character is even more fun to know. Cam Jansen is based even more loosely on a classmate of mine in the first grade whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Now, especially when my children remind me of some promise they said I made, I really envy Cam's amazing memory. I have really enjoyed writing about Cam Jansen and her many adventures. For my books of non-fiction I write about subjects I find fascinating. My first biography was Our Golda: The Life of Golda Meir. To research that book, I bought a 1905 set of encyclopedia. Those books told me what each of the places Golda Meir lived in were like when she lived there. I've written many other biographies, including books about Martin Luther King, Jr; George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Helen Keller; Harriet Tubman; Anne Frank; and many others in my Picture Book Biography series. I've been a Yankee and a Lou Gehrig fan for decades so I wrote Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. It's more the story of his great courage than his baseball playing. Children face all sorts of challenges and it's my hope that some will be inspired by the courage of Lou Gehrig. I am working now on another book about a courageous man, Janusz Korczak. My book One Yellow Daffodil is fiction, too, but it's based on scores of interviews I did with Holocaust survivors for my books We Remember the Holocaust, Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, The Number on My Grandfather's Arm, and Hiding from the Nazis. The stories I heard were compelling. One Yellow Daffodil is both a look to the past and to the future, and expresses my belief in the great spirit and strength of our children. I love math and was a math teacher for many years, so it was fun for me to write several math books including Fraction Fun, Calculator Riddles, and Shape Up! Fun with Triangles and Other Polygons. In my office I have this sign, "Don't Think. Just Write!" and that's how I work. I try not to worry about each word, even each sentence or paragraph. For me stories evolve. Writing is a process. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process. Well, it's time to get back to dreaming, and to writing, my dream of a job. David A. Adler is the author of more than 175 children's books, including the Young Cam Jansen series. He lives in Woodmere, New York.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for young children,
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This review is from: A Picture Book of Harry Houdini (Picture Book Biography) (Paperback)
This is the first biography of Harry Houdini that I've seen for the early childhood set. The text is easy to understand and the pictures are fascinating. My first and second graders also loved the fact the author is David A. Adler, who penned all of the Cam Jansen books.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are looking for a well-written biography to interest your budding magician, this is it! Can Harry escape yet again?,
This review is from: A Picture Book of Harry Houdini (Picture Book Biography) (Hardcover)
When the Weisz family emigrated from Budapest, Hungary to Appleton, Wisconsin in the late 1800s, their name was changed to Weiss. Times were tough and young Ehrich tried to help out the family finances by "selling newspapers and shining shoes." His father, Rabbi Weiss, taught Hebrew and money was very tight. Erich was a little worker and when he was nine he briefly worked in a "five-cent" circus and later, when he was eleven, got a job working with a locksmith. It wasn't long before he could open all the locks "without keys." Unbeknownst to him he was setting the stage for his future and his own name change. Harry Houdini, as Ehrich came to be known, would be one of the world's greatest "escape artists and magicians in history."
His passion for magic began when with simple card tricks, magic that doesn't thrill people, but when he "added escape tricks" he began to attract a lot of attention. Lock `em up! When he went to a new town he went to the jailhouse and requested he be securely locked into a cell. Nothing seemed to be able to hold him and small town newspaper stories hyped up the story and people began to flock to his shows. He defied anyone to keep him captive, but no one could. The escapes became more and more elaborate and extremely exciting. Harry soon became an international star. What heights would his tricks take him? Could he survive a bridge jump "locked in chains" or would he drown trying? The age group that would be interested in this nicely written biography of Harry Houdini also seems to be fascinated with amateur magic tricks. Some of course are more interested in others, but if you've ever had a chance to take a youngster into a magic shop or watch the amazement on his or her face as they watch a magician, you'll understand the awe and amazement they feel. The storyline was very exciting and riveting at times. The artwork was superb, especially the depiction of Houdini in a jail cell. The numerous locks from head to toe and the self-assured look on his face says it all. If you are looking for a well-written biography to interest your budding magician, this is it!
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