Baby Conjurer

[bluess]

And I do mean baby!

My 6-year old daughter loves magic tricks - she has one she does herself, and at a recent birthday party learned another.

Could any conjurer's recommend any age-appropriate materials to keep her going.

And the proud mommy also notes: She asked how one of the tricks was done at the party, and another adult said 'By magic!'. She looked at him for a second, derisively said 'NO!' then turned to the magician and asked him. Since this was a purchased trick (the egg in the cup thing), he very nicely showed her.

[Garrette]

You have to ask now? When I've little time left to prepare for my road trip?

Can't think of them off the top of my head, and not entirely sure they're really meant for that young, but I think I have a couple that are in the ballpark. If they're not in the attic, perhaps I can pull them out tonight.

[bluess]

Very cool!

'Cause if I have to be impressed with the 'suddenly two pennies in one elbow' trick again, I'll just cry.

[vIQleS]

793.8

Is the dewey decimal classification for magic tricks. Your local library should have a resonable collection in the kids section. I'm sure if she reads enough books, she'll find a few tricks that she likes and are within her capabilities...

[bluess]

793.8

Is the dewey decimal classification for magic tricks. Your local library should have a resonable collection in the kids section. I'm sure if she reads enough books, she'll find a few tricks that she likes and are within her capabilities...

Thanks! She's not quite reading yet, but this is a good place for to start.

[Brown]

Some good tricks for young 'uns, available from a number of sources:

The "Vanishing Cigarette Trick": Okay, I'm kidding about that one.

"Color-changing Liquid": A great trick that looks mysterious and that involves no sleight-of-hand. Can be done with chemicals (such as phenolphthalein) or with a hidden spot of food coloring. Color-changing liquids can be woven into a simple story that a child can tell.

"Rope Through The Neck": One my dad taught me when I was very young. Kids have smaller necks than adults, and can often make the trick look better than adults can.

"Magnetic Coin": There are lots of versions of this. One is the ability to stick a coin on one's forehead. The version that I prefer is the one in which I can snatch a coin off a table without picking it up. Once you know the secret, it's easy to do. (I used to entertain one of my best friends' kids at restaurants with this one. They would get antsy when they had to wait for their food, but a few magic tricks like this would keep them calm and entertained while they waited, much to their parents' delight.)

"Balancing Straw," "Disappearing Toothpick" (recently demonstrated by Criss Angel on his A&E program), "Unpoppable Balloon," "Coin Through Small Hole in Paper" and "Cartesian Diver" are other good tricks for the very young. These tricks require a little advance preparation by the parents, but they are easy tricks for a young child to do.

One might also consider getting Andrew Mayne's "Wizard School" DVD, which includes some very simple tricks suitable for the younger set (but these tricks are also good enough that older performers can use them). "Wizard Paper" is a good one for a young performer, and so is the "Rising Wand." Some of the tricks (like "Scarf Through Neck" or "Flying Broomstick") are pretty advanced and require a bit of practice to perform well.

I learned a lot of tricks from some of Martin Gardner's books for children. Many of these tricks, such as "Balancing Coin," can be performed with little set-up (and are suitable for entertaining young kids in a restaurant setting).

[bluess]

Brown - thanks!

You must be a great adult to have at a restaurant. To heck with entertaining the small-fry - entertain the whiney adults!

[Brown]

You must be a great adult to have at a restaurant. To heck with entertaining the small-fry - entertain the whiney adults!My friend's kids aren't children any more: one is in college and the other is a senior in high school. But when they were younger, they could easily get impatient when they had to wait for their food to be served.

A few simple tricks would go a long way. Not only that, the tricks didn't have to be all that good. There are simple tricks that can be done with forks, knives and spoons, as well as napkins and toothpicks. When you have children who are curious about the world (as these kids were), a simple trick or a simple mystery can hold their attention. And yes, the parents enjoyed it, too.

The stunt that I'm probably best remembered for was one in which I was a guest of my friend AND his siblings and their kids. Altogether, there were perhaps eight to ten kids at the table in the restaurant, with perhaps a dozen adults. I performed the "Tommy Tomato" trick for the kids (which is not a magic trick, so I'll describe it in detail; this trick has been shown on "America's Funniest People").

Basically, I swiped a small, round tomato from the salad bar and cut a horizontal slit in the tomato with a steak knife. Holding up the tomato with my thumb on one side of the slit and my middle finger on the other side, I could make the slit open and close by gently squeezing and releasing the tomato. This would make the tomato appear to "talk."

"Hi, I'm Tommy Tomato!" I would say in a high-pitched voice, making the tomato "talk" as I did so. Then I would add, in a somewhat ill but still high-pitched voice, "I don't feel so well."

Then I would push the back of the tomato with my index finger. The goop inside the tomato would come out of the slit, and it would look like the tomato was vomiting.

Naturally, the kids loved it.

But the adults, who were totally surprised by the trick, laughed even harder than the kids did. To this day, the kids (most of whom are now grown) remember not only the puking tomato but also how their parents, aunts and uncles laughed themselves sick at the trick.

[bluess]

The only problem I have with the puking tomato is that the general level of table manners in my household is sinking to the pig level. For this I blame my husband. OK, and me. But maybe the puking tomato is a good alternative to the 'see what happens when you chew these three things together' trick we've all been demonstrating.

[HeyLeroy]

Just a caveat, Brown. The 'rope thru the neck' trick was one of the first I learned, but be careful even showing it to little kids. It's simple, but you wouldn't want a little one to eff it up and hurt themself.

[vIQleS]

Thanks! She's not quite reading yet, but this is a good place for to start.

Sorry - it didn't even occur to me that a 6 year old might not be reading yet, but the ones that are designed for kids have a lot of good pictures and easy to follow instructions, I'm sure she won't mind you learning the secrets of the tricks if you can help her with the big words... :-)

The key thing about these books, is that they contain all the basic principles of magic, and a lot of the main tricks that you need to know.

[bluess]

Thanks vIQleS.

I bought some cheesy tricks ($1 for three in a box) at a craft store - I'll try those with her first.

This parenthood thing is hysterical - I have so far learned how to weave, build a gingerbread house, the rules for Candyland, and how to dress a Dora the Explorer doll. Guess I'll be becoming a conjurer too.