Ladybird Tuesday - Tricks and Magic

An activity that I have planned for the summer holidays is for the children (and me!) to learn some simple magic tricks, and then put on a little magic show. So the acquisition of Ladybird Tricks and Magic was very well timed.

Tricks and Magic is from Series 633 - Hobbies. I love the sound of all the books in this series, and I know that we had some of the others at one point - How to Swim and Dive definitely sticks in my memory and Ram also has Stamp Collecting in his stash from home. I also have a sneaky suspicion that a few of the other books from this series may be making an appearance around the time of my birthday! Tricks and Magic was first published in 1969.

The book covers a range of simple magic tricks which can be performed with materials found around the house. It starts off with instructions for how to make a magic wand and a magician's hat, which we'll definitely be doing.

The magic tricks range in difficulty and cover a range of styles - from card tricks, 'tricks' that aren't really tricks but are impressive scientific stunts, and tricks that need some preparation. They use all sorts of things like matchsticks, coins and handkerchiefs, although I think I'll find an alternative to the matchsticks when I teach them to Harry! I did like the page which described how to blow over a brick. But where to find a brick? 'There is probably one somewhere in your garden' - yes, very true!

I've picked out a few which Harry will be able to do, and some which I can learn to (hopefully) impress him. Like all Ladybird books, the text is easy to follow and I do love the vintage illustrations.

If you love Ladybird books, do pop over and visit Ladybird Tuesday, where Being Mrs C is assembling a really comprehensive catalogue of Ladybird books and reviews.

Below you can find links to all my Ladybird Tuesday book posts.

Snow White and Rose Red
Hansel and Gretel
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
The Three Little Pigs
The Old Woman and her Pig
Little Red Riding Hood
The Ugly Duckling
The Railway Children
A Little Princess
A First book of Aesop's Fables

A Ladybird Book about Knitting
More Things to Make - For Special Occasions
Easy to Make Puppets
Learning to Sew
Stamp Collecting
Tricks and Magic

Prehistoric Animals and Fossils
Dinosaurs
Stone Age Man in Britain
Great Civilisations - Crete
Charles Dickens
Nelson
Lives of the Great Composers Book 1
Lives of the Great Composers Book 2
The Story of Music

Plants and How They Grow
The Ladybird Book of the Night Sky
Sea and Air Mammals
The Farm

The Story of Nuclear Power
The Motor Car
How it Works - The Computer
How it Works - The Rocket
The Story of Ships
The Postman and the Postal Service
People at Work - The Nurse

Understanding Numbers
Talkabout Clothes
Going to School
Teaching Reading

Stories of Special Days and Customs
Christmas Customs

Girls and Boys - A Ladybird Book of Childhood