It's Auto-magic

A Note to Parents Mary Kay Ash, who created one of the most successful cosmetic companies in America, had a wonderful idea. One of the most crucial concepts she taught her sales team was to imagine ever y person they met had a banner on their foreheads declaring "Make Me Feel Special". Imagine if we applied her ideas to our children; the y would be filled with a sense of hope and optimism and confidence; they would grow into balanced and secure indi viduals who would in turn, make wonderful parents. If children recognize and appreciate their gifts, talent and endless potential, it frees them up to see t he same things in others. And no – they will not be creating arrogant monsters! Arrogance is usually a cover up for massive insecurit y anyway. However, they may be shining a light in the dimness of someone else's soul and letting them see their own talents. Magic is a skill that is fairly easy to learn and can help children to feel good about themselves. It will help develop hand eye coordination and communication skills. Work with your children as they practice these magic tricks. Gently critique them as they learn new routines and encourage them to practice. Set aside a time of the day for practicing. Keep it going for about fifteen minutes and then take a break for about five or ten minutes. This would be a good time to help them think about the story that goes along with the trick. Then have them practice the same trick for another fifteen minutes. The trick will be easier after a short break. Practicing magic will help children learn that they have to work to achieve their goals. The tricks in thi s book were designed to be easy so children can start to de velop the disciplines they will need later on.

My Inspiration

When I was in the fifth grade, I saw something astounding. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and little did I know, this event would change my life forever. My life's ambition would be based on this one event. What could I have seen that had such a strong impact on my life? I saw Kermit the Frog riding a bicycle and I wondered how he was able to do that. This was a magical moment. So, my dream has been trying to create magical moments like that. By combining magic, special effects and puppetry I've been able to achieve my dream. If you would like to see how I’m achieving me dream, just look up KidsComedian.com. I'd love to spark something in your imagination.

The Magic Bug If you’ve been bitten by the magic bug and are starting out in magic, here are three steps to get you on the right path.

1. Check your public library for magic books and read every title that you can get your hands on. Learn a few tricks from these books, which often make use of everyday items found around the home or office, and practice and perform them for your friends. At this stage, if you can, choose your audiences wisely. Try to perform for those who are friendly, appreciative and can provide you with helpful feedback. Performing for a tough audience at this stage can be overwhelming. Remember that knowing the secret and being able to perform a trick is only part of the success of a trick.

2. The tendency early on is to go to a magic store, buy a variety of effects, take them home and try to learn them. However, magic effects may or may not be appropriate for your particular skill level. And buying magic tricks can quickly become expensive.

3. It’s important that you get in touch with other magicians. Not only can you freely show your new effects to other magicians without having to worry about failure and exposing secrets, other magicians can provide you with valuable feedback and even teach you better methods. Excellent magic organizations include the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and Society of American Magicians. Both have local clubs where you can meet and work with other magicians. If you live in the Los Angeles area, check out The Magic Castle (http://www.magic.about.com/o d/magicvenues/a/magiccastle.h tm). However, you’ll have to know a member to get in. If you’re lucky enough to have a local magic store in your area, visit it and ask if they host a club. In any event, most magic stores provide a gathering place where you may visit with other magicians. Just be sure to support your magic store by purchasing tricks and supplies. The local magic store is unfortunately becoming something of a rarity.

Rules for Good Magicians: SECRETS: Never, never tell your friends how you did a trick; no matter how much they ask. Once they learn the secrets, all the fun is gone. When they ask, be polite and say "I promised never to tell", or "I don't know how it works myself!"

PRACTICE: Practice each

REPEATING: Never do

MIRRORS: Always think

the same trick again right away. When your friends say "Do that again", it means they were fooled this time, but next time they'll catch you. If you do it again, their eyes will be watching every move. If they insist, do a different trick, or say the trick can only be done once.

about how the trick will look to the audience. The best way is to practice in front of a mirror, so you can see what your friends will see. They will watch closely, so you must know how it looks to them. Sometimes you will see things that surprise you.

BOASTING: Don't boast

TRICKS: Choose the tricks

about how good you are. This will make your friends angry at you, and they won't watch another trick. It's not fun knowing magic if people don't watch. So when the magic trick happens, act surprised.

you like best. Nobody could do every trick equally well. As you try new tricks, some will "feel" right for you, while others won't. Stick to the ones that feel right, and you will do them the best.

trick many times before you show it to anyone. If you show it without practicing, you'll just give the secret away or have the trick fail. If you do mess up a trick in front of an audience, just go on to another trick.

Jumping Bands Effect: A rubber band mysteriously jumps from your pinkie and ring fingers to the first and middle fingers of the same hand and then back again. Materials: A rubber band. If you like, you can also use a hair band. Hold your hand naturally and wrap the rubber band around your pinkie and ring fingers. Let the rubber band rest at the base of your fingers.

The back of your hand should be facing your audience (The picture shows your hand from your view). With your other hand, stretch the rubber band and insert the tips of your pinky, ring, middle and first fingers into it.

Rest your fingers in the rubber band against the palm of your hand. Notice how all of the fingers are resting inside of the rubber band and how the band is held against the fingertips. At this point, you should be able to simply open (straighten) all of your fingers to make the rubber band "jump" to your index and middle fingers.

If the rubber band doesn’t jump, please review the instructions. Note that by reversing the direction, you can make the rubber band jump back to the original fingers.

Card Spelling Before starting this trick, take the cards out of the deck that you see in the picture, and arrange them in order like the picture. Put the rest of the deck away. It doesn't matter which suits are used (hearts, clubs, spades, diamonds). Don't let anybody watch you arrange the cards. Now hold the packet of cards face down, so the three is facedown on top.

Starting with the top card (three), spell the first card from the list below (ACE), taking the card off the top for each letter, and putting that card on the bottom. Turn the next card over, and it will be the ace. Place the ace on the table.

Now spell out the next card in the list, the TWO, turn over the top card, and place it on the table. It will be a two. Continue with the rest of the arranged cards. The list of cards to spell are:

ACE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN JACK QUEEN KING

To make this more entertaining, you could add a "false shuffle" or "false cut", or pretend you're not sure if it will work. Of course, you know by now it will work IF YOU PRACTICE!!

Mind Reading What if you could read with your fingers? This trick shows that you can. Three people write their names on a piece of paper, a girl and two boys. The paper is then torn in three pieces, and the pieces are dropped into a box or hat. With a blindfold on, the magician is able to pull out the one girl’s name. Of course, this could be done with two girls and one boy, two teachers and one student, etc.

Here is how it works. The paper is folded into three parts, and the names are written on the paper, like the picture. Now tear the paper at the folds, and drop the pieces in the hat. Cover your eyes with the handkerchief, and reach into the hat.

How do you tell which one is the girls name? Feel the edges of the paper carefully. The name in the middle will be the only one with two torn edges. The top and bottom names have only one torn edge. Pretend you're thinking hard, and people will think you can read with your fingers.

Aces from Your Pocket you hold open your pocket, slip your hand inside the pocket to hide the aces. This also puts the deck of cards against the outer edge of the pocket. Notice how the hand hides the aces that are already in the pocket. A spectator shuffles a deck and cuts it and drops it into the inner pocket of your coat. You ask the spectator to call out a number between "1" and "10." You bring out the number of cards from the deck in your pocket, and then lay down the next card on the table. You repeat this three times. When you turn over the four separate cards on the table, they are all aces. You’ll need to wear a jacket with an inner pocket. Before the trick, remove the aces from the deck and put them into the pocket of your jacket, with the faces towards your body. Give the deck to someone to shuffle and cut. Ask the spectator to put the deck into your pocket (the same one with the aces). As

Ask for a number between 1 and 10. Reach into your pocket and count cards from the top of the deck. When you get to the last number, remove one of the aces. Place the packet on the table and rest the ace face down away from the packet. Repeat the last step until you have removed all four aces. Turn over the cards on the table to reveal the four aces.

Cups and Balls Some consider the cups & balls to be the oldest recorded magic trick, apparently depicted on the walls of Egypt’s Great Pyramids. While professional magicians such as Tim Ellis, Johnny Ace Palmer, Suzanne, Brian Ochab and Michael Ammar perform stunning, advanced versions of this classic, beginning magicians can purchase simple, prepackaged versions that result in a mystifying sequence. This one requires some time to learn as there is a set sequence to memorize. But the results will be satisfying to beginners and their audiences. Inexpensive plastic versions may be purchased for less than five dollars. Pro versions with metal cups can cost up to hundreds of dollars. The version depicted here features inexpensive aluminum cups that cost less than thirty dollars.

The basic routine consists of three stackable cups and three small balls. The magician stacks two cups, places a ball on top of the stack and places the third cup over the entire stack.

When the magician lifts the three-cup stack, the ball is seen to have penetrated through the two cups and is found on the table.

The magician again stacks two cups and places it over the ball that has already journeyed through the cups. A second ball is placed on top of the two-cup stack and the third cup is placed over the entire stack.

For the finale, the magician places one cup over the two balls on the table, rests another cup on the table a short distance away, puts the last ball on top of that cup and places the last cup on top of the ball.

The magician lifts the first cup to show that the third ball has mysteriously joined the other two under the first cup. When the magician lifts the three-cup stack, the second ball is seen to have penetrated through the two cups and is found on the table with the first ball.

Crayon Prediction

Get a number of different crayons and hand them to a helper. Ask them to hand you a crayon behind your back but not tell you which one it is. As you say, “I can feel colors. I’ll prove it to you.” Dig your fingernail into the crayon with your right hand. Keep the crayon behind your back in your left hand as you bring your right hand forward and hold it up to your forehead as if you are concentrating. As you do this sneak a look at your fingernail and see the color of the crayon you are holding behind your back. You then pretend to be feeling the color before announcing it.

The No-Pop Balloon

Everybody knows that if you stick a pin in a balloon you will pop it. But, you can prove that with your magical powers nothing is impossible. Before the show blow up a balloon and stick several pieces of clear tape on it. Use a dark colored balloon and the audience will not see the tape. If you push the pins into the tape the balloon will not pop. To destroy the evidence, simple push a pin in an untapped area.

Jumping Paperclips

For this trick you’ll need two paperclips and a dollar bill. Fold the bill into an “S” shape and clip it together as seen in the drawing. If you now pull the ends of the bill apart, the two paperclips will fly in the air and link together all by themselves

Balancing Cup

Secret: Hold your hand as in the picture, balancing a plastic cup on the edge of a playing card and on the tip of your first (index finger). If you do this quickly, for only a couple of

seconds, and make it look hard, no one should notice that a finger is missing. Be sure to use a plastic cup and not a breakable glass one. Also, an opaque cup, one that you can’t see through, is better than a clear one. You will have to practice a bit as there is a knack to balancing the cup with your finger (the secret). You may wish to experiment with different cups to see if some are easier to balance than others. Also, you'll have to watch your angles-don't let anyone view this illusion from the side or back.

The Knot Tie Challenge You challenge your friends to tie a knot in a piece of rope, but the catch is, once they grab the rope, they can’t let go. Once they give up, you show them how. Lay the rope on a table and ask your spectators to tie a knot in the rope. But, you explain, once they grab the rope they can’t let go. After your friends give up, cross your arms and pick up the rope at each end, with each hand. When you uncross your arms, you’ll tie a knot in the middle of the rope without releasing either end.

The Shuffle Every magician needs to know how to perform a basic shuffle . Here’s how, step-by-step.

Hold the deck in both hands with your fingers and thumbs holding the short ends of the deck. Your fingers are towards the front of the deck.

Split the deck so half of the deck is held by each hand. Here, the right hand is holding the top half of the deck and the left hand is holding the bottom half of the deck.

Turn your hands and begin to bow the cards by squeezing them between your thumb and fingers. Notice that the bend of the bow is towards the table.

Release the cards from your thumbs allowing the cards to fall and interlace.

When you’re done interlacing the cards, use your hands to push the two sets of cards together.

Your shuffle is complete.

Visual Tricks

Is the ball moving? Stare at the bulb for 30 sec. then look at a white piece of paper and watch the bulb glow.

The lines are completely white.

This is a perfect circle.

The center circles are the same size. The grey lines are straight.

Visual Tricks

Woman or sax player?

These dots are completely white.

Face or the word 'liar'?

An endless triangle

They are both the same size.

World's Simplest Trick Effect: You take out a deck of cards and ask the spectator to shuffle it thoroughly. You then ask him to name any two cards (just the name of the card, without the suit). After the spectator names two cards, you put your hand on the deck of cards, and concentrate hard on it. After a minute or so, you ask the spectator to turn over the deck of cards and fan through it. Astonishingly, the cards that he names are right next to each other. You Need: A deck of cards . Nothing! You really don't do anything! If I have to say, the only thing you have to do for this trick is to act like you are really concentrating very hard on the cards when you put your hand on them. That's all! This trick simply works! All by itself! This trick works by probability . When the spectator names two cards (remember to tell him not

to name the suit), let's say Ace and Ten, he is really naming four cards of each kind since the suit is not specified. The theory is that out of those eight cards ( Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds, Ten of Spades , Ten of Hearts, Ten of Clubs , Ten of Diamonds ), at least one of the Aces in the deck will be next to one of the Tens. Don't believe this? Try it out! About 10% of the time, there may be a card between the Ace and the Ten. If that happens, simply tell the spectator that you are not concentrating hard enough. When you repeat the trick, it will work. You can never find a trick that's easier than this one! Note: This trick can be done to the same spectator a few times, but if you do it too many times, they will eventually figure it out. So, don't overdo this one!

Psychic Cards The Magic Effect: 12 cards are placed on the bar (using any red and black cards from the deck) in the same pattern you see in the diagram below here. You tell someone to secretly pick any BLACK card. After telling them to make several secret random moves, you are able to tell them which card they have moved to. The Magic Secret: Tell your audience member to pick an y black card. Tell them to ne xt move UP or DOWN to the nearest R ED card. Next, tell them to move LEFT or RIGHT to the nearest BLACK card. Next, tell them to move DIAGONALLY To the Nearest RED card. Finall y, tell them to move UP or DOWN to the nearest BL ACK card. If you follow these directions carefully, your audience member will always end up on the MIDDLE CARD ON THE BOTTOM ROW.

The Magic Pouch This is a clever coin trick that can be done as impromptu magic using only two simple props, a coin and a square of paper. This stunt is easy to do and gets an amazing reaction from your audience. A classsic of close up magic and an easy trick for beginners to perform.

1. Holding the piece of paper, take the coin and place it in the centre of the paper

2. The next step is to fold the bottom edge of the paper up to cover the coin.The bottom edge should not be folded up all the way up to the top edge but should be about 5 millimetres below it.

3. The right edge of the paper is then folded back behind the coin as shown in the picture.

4. The left edge of the paper is then folded back behind the coin a shown in the picture.

5. The last fold is made by bending the top flap of the paper behind the coin. This will appear to the audience member to have completely sealed in the coin . Unknown to them there is actually an opening at the top of the paper pouch.

6. Turn the paper pouch upside down in your hand and let the coin gently fall into your palm where you can conceal it from the audience.

7. For a finale, you can tear the paper pouch in two, where the audience see that the coin appears to have vanished. Use a little patter to make this trick more entertaining.

Handkerchief and Vanishing Coin Trick Effect: The magician sticks the coin into the handkerchief, turns it over and then the coin disappears from inside the handkerchief.

Secret :You secretly wrap a rubber band around your fingers and thumb. Then you place the handkerchief in that hand. With your other hand place the coin into the handkerchief.

Then let the rubber band slide off of your fingers and onto the

handkerchief, so it surrounds the coin and it is under the handkerchief.

You then slide your hand up to the end of the handkerchief and shake it. This makes it look like the coin has disappeared. But it is really stuck in the handkerchief, held by the rubber band.

The Pendulum A simple pendulum may be made by tying a finger ring or other small weight on a length of fine thread (about 12-18 inches is fine). To use the pendulum, hold the end of the thread lightly between the thumb and first two fingers of one hand. Your hand should be held comfortably at about shoulder height so that the ring hangs down freely.

Experiment 1 Hold the pendulum as described above. Now simply TELL the pendulum to move back and forth. Do NOT try to make it swing by moving your hand - keep your hand still while staying relaxed. You will find that the pendulum starts to move as directed, slightly at first and then with increasing amplitude (keep up the mental intention). Now tell the pendulum to stop. The swing will quickly reduce until the pendulum stops moving. Try telling the pendulum to move in different ways - e.g., left to right, diagonally, clockwise, anticlockwise. In each case the pendulum will move in the intended direction.

Practice these tests until you have developed a good sense of the ways in which the pendulum moves and the effects of your mental intentions on the movements.

Experiment 2 IMPORTANT: In this experiment, and the experiments that follow, it is important that you do NOT consciously intend any particular movement of the pendulum. You should rather simply WATCH the pendulum to see how it moves. Ask a friend to hold out a hand and allow the ring to dangle just above it. You will find that the ring will start to move, apparently of its own volition. You may find that the direction of movement is different depending on the sex of the person. It is often said, for example, that if the person is male the ring will swing back and forth, whereas if the person is female, the ring will trace a circle or ellipse. See if this is true for you.

Experiment 3 Think of a number between 5 and 10. Now hold the pendulum so that the ring hangs down inside a glass tumbler, without it touching the sides or bottom. It may help to rest your elbow on the table. The pendulum will start to swing until the ring strikes the side of the tumbler. Mysteriously, the ring will continue to swing so that it strikes exactly the number of times you were thinking of, then it will slowly stop.

Experiment 4 Get three cups and invert them on a table. While you turn away, ask a friend to hide a coin under one of the cups. Now turn back and hold the pendulum over each of the cups in turn. From the movements of the pendulum, see if you can tell which cup the object is under.

Experiment 5 Try using the pendulum to get answers to questions that you are interested in. You will need to decide in advance what each direction of movement means. A simple and sensible system is to use a forward-and-back swing for "yes" and left-to-right for "no". If you have a complex

question, you will need to break it down into a sequence of yesno questions. Have fun, but don't take it too seriously.

Comments Of course, there is nothing "magical" about the actual movements of the pendulum in any of these experiments. The movements are caused by slight unconscious muscle movements in the body, arm and hand (if you don't believe this then, when observing someone else using the pendulum, watch their HAND rather than the pendulum). Psychologists call this phenomenon the ideomotor response. The pendulum simply acts as an amplifier of these subconscious ideomotor movements, so that they can be more easily detected. The interesting question in relation to the pendulum's use in dowsing is whether these unconscious muscular movements may be produced by super-sensory or extrasensory awareness. Experiments 4 and 5 provide a way of investigating these possibilities.

Abracadabra Card Trick This is a great self working card trick! Performance: Take 21 cards and deal them out into three columns by dealing seven cards in each column. Deal three cards across for the first row, then another card on top of each for the next row, and so on until you have seven rows of cards in three columns for a total of 21 cards. Make sure you deal out each of the rows so you can still see the cards behind it.( See picture below) Now have someone think of any card in one of the columns, and then tell you which column the card is in. Pick up one of the other columns, then the column he chose, and then the last column, so that the column with the chosen card is between the other two. Deal them out again the same as before, and have your volunteer tell you which column the card is now in. Again, pick up the cards so that the column he pointed to is between the other two. Repeat the process of dealing out the cards, having him tell you which column his card is now in, and picking up

the cards so that the column with his card is between the other two columns. You have now done this three times, and it's time to find his card! Hold the cards face down in your hand, as if you were going to deal them out again, but instead ask your volunteer if he has ever heard of the magic word ABRACADABRA. Say that not many people know it, but ABRACADABRA is a magic word for finding things, and that you'll show him what you mean. Spell the word ABRACADABRA, and for each letter deal one of the cards face down on the table. When you reach the last " A", pause, and then turn over that card. It will be the chosen card! As long as you spell ABRACADABRA right, this trick will work every time!

The Challenge Test your powers of prediction against mine!! Stage 1 •

I have made a prediction about your behavior. My prediction is sealed and will be revealed later. • I want you to guess whether my prediction will be CORRECT or INCORRECT. • If you think my prediction will be CORRECT, concentrate on the box. • If you think my prediction will be INCORRECT, concentrate on circle. Continue concentrating for a few more seconds, and then turn the page.

You guess my prediction will be

CORRECT

You guess my prediction will be

INCORRECT

Stage 2 • •

When you have completed Stage 1, you may continue. You WIN the prediction challenge if you guessed right. Otherwise you LOSE. To see if you have won, turn the page.

My Prediction is:

You guess my prediction will be

INCORRECT

Your guess was wrong, so I guess I win!!

Cup Levitation Effect: The magician announces that they are going to make an empty cup float. They release their grip on the cup and it appears to float in mid air. Method: Take an empty large paper or styrofoam cup. Carefully make a hole in one side of the empty cup, big enough for your thumb to stick through. If the empty cup is made of styrofoam, you could even push your thumb straight through it. Hold the empty cup with both your hands and facing the others in your party, announce that you are going to try and make the cup float in mid air. Have one thumb pushed through the nearest side of the cup to you, out of view of your audience. Then, appear to be concentrating your mind on the cup and gradually open up both hands at the same time. While doing this, push your hands slightly forward as if you are following the floating cup and eventually grab the cup with both hands. Now, discreetly slip your thumb out from the side of the cup. This is a simple illusion but it looks great when done at the right angle. Practice in front of a mirror to make sure that you get the angles and the timing right.

Bandana Tricks In Almost every one of my shows I do a routine with a bandana. This routine is one of my all time favorites! It’s easy to do and very entertaining. So here you have it, the official Brett Roberts Bandana Routine:

1. One Handed Knot Hold out the bandana by one corner. Then lift the lower corner and hold it in the same hand. Flip the bandana so it hangs down as before. No knot appears so you try again. Still no knot appears. Flip the bandana once more and a knot appears in the lower corner. The secret: Tie a knot in one corner of the bandana. Hold this corner so you hide the knot. When you want the knot to appear, let the knotted corner drop down.

2. Stretching a Bandana You notice that your bandana is too small for the next trick, so you stretch it out.

The Secret: Fold the bandana in half, so you can hold two corners in your right hand and two corners in your left hand. Twirl the bandana in a rope like manner. Now secretly let go of the front corner with your left hand and the back corner with your right. Pull on the remaining corners while twisting the bandana. As you loosen and tighten the twists the bandana will appear to grow.

3. Knot Challenge You tell your audience that you can tie a knot without letting go of the ends. You let several people try to tie a knot without letting go of the ends and they wont be able to. Then you are able to achieve this impossible task. The secret: Hold the bandana at opposite corners and twirl it in a rope-like fashion between your hands. Then place it on a table directly in front of you. To meet the terms of the challenge, before you pick up the bandana, cross your arms. Then you lean forward so you can hold one end of the bandana in each hand. With one end of the

bandana tightly in each hand, simply uncross your arms. You will now have a knot in the center of the bandana.

4. Coin Through Bandana After handing the bandana out for examination, you pass a borrowed coin through the center. The secret: Hold the center of the bandana and pretend to put the coin under it. In reality, you just put the coin behind the bandana. Fold the center of the bandana over the coin, covering it about halfway. It will appear to the audience as if the bandana is draped completely around the coin. Twist the lower part of the bandana around the coin. The shape of the coin will become visible around the cloth. If a little bit of the coin is exposed, simply cover it with your finger. Now, slowly push the coin upwards in the bandana. The coin penetrates the bandana.

5. Mind Reading You turn the bandana into a blindfold and let several people try to see through it. After proving that it is impossible to see through you put it on. Several people hold objects in

the air and you can tell people what they are holding. Secret: Start by laying the bandana on a table. Roll two of the opposing corners together. The rolls should meet in the center. If you hold the rolls together, no one can see through the blindfold. When you want to see through the blindfold simply separate the rolls. You will be able to see through the cloth.

6. Moving Bandana You twirl the bandana in a rope like fashion. It stands up and moves back and forth. You then crush the bandana and it stands up again. The secret: Lay the bandana on the table. Now take the left hand corner between your thumb and first finger. Then grasp the hem, at the center of the right side. Twirl the bandana rope-like between your hands. Move your right hand above your left hand so the right end is directly over the left. Move your left hand up so you can hold the bandana in the center. Pull the bandana tight between your hands then slowly release the bandana from your right fingers. It will stand up straight

and tall. Pretend to pluck a hair from your head and mime tying it on the top of the bandana. As you pretend to pull the hair to the left push the bandana with your left thumb. The bandana will appear to follow the imaginary hair. With practice you will be able to make the bandana move back and forth. Now, with a swift downward motion, bring your right hand down on the bandana, crushing it between your right palm and the top of your left fist. Quickly raise your right hand back up. As you do, secretly use your right fingers to straighten the bandana. This will bring the bandana back to its upright position.

7. Your Beautiful Assistant You make a doll-like beautiful assistant out of the bandana. You animate the assistant, making her do a dance finishing with a high kick. Finally, the

curtains close on the tiny dancer. The secret: Spread the bandana open and tie a knot in the center of one side of the hem. The knot is the head. The two corners closest to the knot will be the hands. The other two corners will be her feet. Grab hold of the corners that will make her feet and twirl the bandana towards you. Twirl it as tightly as possible. Now bring her feet together and hold them with one hand. Use your other hand to hold on to her head and turn her upright. If you use your imagination you can see a dolllike figure. Wiggling her back and forth will make her look like she’s dancing. For her final spinning kick, let go of one of her feet while pulling tight on her other foot and head. She will spin while the bandana comes undone.

There’s more to learn! Many people started out as magicians: Steve Martin, Johnny Carson, Orson Wells, and Harry Anderson. Magic is very popular. Everyone knows the name of David Copperfield, magician. He made the Statue of Liberty disappear, as well as a jet airplane.

the world. The two largest ones are the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM). And the Society of American Magicians (SAM). They usually meet once amonth. Call your local magic shop for more information, or check out their web sites:

Try to watch magicians whenever you can. Read the TV schedule and circle the shows that have them.

IBM: www.magician.org

Some Magicians tour with large stage shows. These are a real treat to see, and sometimes you may get to see the stars backstage after the show. David Copperfield and the Pendragons tour a lot. Look for other performers as well. There are many books about magic. Many can be found your school or local library. Most magic books can be found around 793 in the library. Study them, and learn as much as you can about the fascinating world of magic. Also try juggling, puppetry and balloon animals. There are lots of things you can learn. Magician’s clubs are all over

SAM: www.magicsam.com Here’s a list of some good books to read: Bill Severn’s Book of Magic by Bill Stevern Now you See It Now You Don’t by Bill Tarr Houdini, The Untold Story by Milbourne Christopher The Amateur Magician’s Handbook by Henry Hay LaughMaker’s Magazine by Bob and Kathy Gibbons