History/Activity Ages 9 & up C I A Kids can amaze R L S LLUSIONIST, ESCAPE ARTIST, MOVIE STAR, aviator, their family and O N and spy—Harry Houdini was all these and an friends by: international celebrity and the world’s most MAGICAL COIN A SLEIGHT OF HAND! famous magician. This fascinating biography looks at Stepping through an index card all the facets of Houdini’s amazing life and includes 21 magic tricks and illusions for a hands-on learning Performing an odd experience. Houdini was an artist who created his number trick H a acts carefully, practicing them for years in some cases. rr Making a coin appear y He performed such seemingly impossible stunts as ODD NUMBER TRICK INVENTOR! Mind reading with escaping several sets of handcuffs and ropes after a secret code jumping off a bridge into a flowing river. Kids will learn how he devised his most legendary stunts and Making a magic box f o r will also learn the science and logic behind many of Lifting a person Houdini’s acts including his famous milk can escape. with one hand A MAGIC BOX PHYSICALLY FIT! Laurie Carlson is the author of More Than Moccasins, Thomas Making a talking Edison for Kids, Westward Ho! and many other books. She is a board professor at Western Oregon University. And much more Distributed by LIFT A PERSON KING OF CARDS! Independent Publishers Group www.ipgbook.com L AU R I E LIFE ADVENTURES HIS AND CARLSON www.chicagoreviewpress.com WITH 21 MAGIC TRICKS AND ILLUSIONS HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES WITH 21 MAGIC TRICKS AND ILLUSIONS LAURIE CARLSON Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cover and interior design: Joan Sommers Design Cover image credits: (Left to right) Busch Circus Carlson, Laurie M., 1952– poster, c. 1912. Postcard of the Hippodrome, New Harry Houdini for kids : his life and adventures York; Private collection. Houdini, bound and chained with 21 magic tricks and illusions / Laurie Carlson. to a large metal wheel; Photograph courtesy of the — 1st ed. Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. p. cm. Harry Houdini; Photograph courtesy of the Library Includes index. of Congress, LC-USZC4-3277. ISBN 978-1-55652-782-1 (pbk.) 1. Houdini, Harry, 1874–1926—Juvenile © 2009 by Laurie Carlson literature. 2. Magicians—United States— All rights reserved Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. Escape artists— First edition United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated 4. Magic tricks. I. Title. 814 North Franklin Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 GV1545.H8C33 2009 978-1-55652-782-1 793.8092—dc22 Printed in Italy [B] 5 4 3 2 1 2008021404 TO BRIAN AND TYLER, BOYS WITH BIG IDEAS AND ENERGY TO MATCH. Contents Time Line vi 3. Becoming the Handcuff King 32 Introduction 1 Dissolving Rings Trick 35 1. Humble Beginnings 4 Magic Knot Trick 37 Step Through a Mind Reading with Note Card 8 Secret Code 43 Odd Number Trick 10 4. And the Crowd 2. A Star Is Born 12 Goes Wild! 50 Linking Paper Rings 14 Magic Key Trick 52 Lift a Person with Make a Magic Box 69 One Hand 23 5. Going to Extremes 72 Four Against One 25 Milk Can Escape—Measure Balls or Coins Trick 27 Volume Displacement 79 Build a Box Kite 85 6. Aviator, Actor . . . Spy? 92 Resources 133 Further Reading 133 Magical Money Trick 95 Web Sites to Explore 133 Write an Invisible Message 107 Sources 134 Make a Secret Spy Safe 108 Index 135 Crack a Secret Code 109 7. Ghostbuster 110 Make Some Slimy Ectoplasm 117 Make a Talking Board 122 Create Ghostly Handprints 125 8. Was It Murder? 126 Farmer’s Chop Suey 129 Time Line Ehrich Weisz born in Budapest, Hungary Weisz family moves to Appleton,Wisconsin, changes name to Weiss Weiss family moves to New York City Ehrich joins with a friend to create amagic act: the Houdini Brothers. Hebegins using the name Harry Houdini. Harry’s father dies Harry’s brother Dash replaces friend inthe Houdini Brothers; they perform atChicago World’s Fair Harry marries Bess Rahner after know-ing her for three weeks Harry and Bess, now “The Houdinis,”spend six years struggling with their act Houdinis get a big break, perform in topvaudeville theaters across the country Houdinis tour Britain and Europe Houdinis return to United States and buy a house in New York City and a small farm in Connecticut Harry begins doing handcuffed bridge jumps 4 8 7 1 2 3 3 9 0 5 7 7 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 vvii d Harry does the Milk Can Escape Harry is the first person to fly an air-plane in Australia—he spends three anda half minutes in the air Harry does the Chinese Water TortureCell stunt World War I begins Harry does the Vanishing Elephant actas part of a large extravaganza markingthe end of World War I TheHarry becomes a movie star when Master Mysteryopens in theaters The Funk and Wagnalls dictionaryhoudinizeincludes the word , whichmeans “to release or extricate oneselffrom (confinement, bonds, or the like), as by wriggling out” Houdini begins investigating spirit mediums In February Harry testifies before a congressional committee investigatingparanormal frauds or anyone pretendingto tell fortunes for money In October while at McGill University inMontreal, Canada, Harry is punched harin the stomach. He becomes ill and a fewdays later has his appendix removed.After another surgery, he dies onOctober 31 in Detroit, Michigan. U.S. Postal Service issues afirst-class commemorativestamp honoring Houdini 8 0 2 4 8 9 0 2 6 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 0 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 Houdini returned in 2002— on a postage stamp! U. S. POSTAL SERVICE vviiii introduction H oudini created Houdini. When question. After World War I began, he considering the life of Ehrich found himself more determined than ever Weisz, who would become the to be recognized as a solid citizen of the great Harry Houdini, it’s important to United States. note that some stories he told have been In many ways Houdini’s rise to fame contradicted and that he often “re-created” was a result of the conditions that existed his past for personal reasons. His birth during the era in which he lived. The date, birthplace, childhood, and other country faced internal divisions and details were often changed. In the late bitter conflicts between employees and 1800s Jewish immigrants faced discrimi- employers. Urban tenements were packed nation in the United States, a condition with frustrated people, immigrants that worsened as Houdini came to adult- continued arriving, and the country hood and led him to smooth over his for- was in turmoil as labor unions expanded eign roots. As a child, he was reared in a and pressed for a better quality of life. household where no English was spo- Parades, protests, and riots were common. ken—his parents spoke German. When Crowds gathered in the streets for a touring in Europe, he taught himself to variety of reasons, and for Houdini, speak other languages so he could better entertaining the mob grew naturally out connect with the audience, and his child- of the circumstances. He would do a stunt hood German came in handy. He also dab- as thousands gathered in the street below, bled in speaking French, Russian, and watching for hours—something the Danish. But his allegiance was never in public happily engaged in before moving 1