There are lots of books to help you learn about doing magic kid shows. In particular, check out books by Frances Marshall, Bobo's Magic Show by J.B. Bobo, books by David Ginn, and books by Dave Fiscus.
By: Olde Rabbit
All the Kid Stuff books by Frances Marshall are excellent and well worth
the money. The one I have used most is #5. Another excellent book I've
gotten good stuff from is Bobo's Magic Show. It gives a lot of the
routines, tips, etc., used in J. B. Bobo's school assembly shows, which he
did for a living. I don't do any of the routines ver batim, but they gave
me an excellent understanding of what kinds of routines work best on kids.
Same is true for KidStuffFive. Excellent routines and ideas.
The biggest point about working for kids is they aren't entertained with just tricks. What really makes them happy is longer routines, full of audience participation and comedy. They love running gags, goofiness, seeing the magician get into trouble and magic saving him, stuff like that. A lot of these routines make use of standard kidshow utility props like fall-apart wands, fans, boxes, etc, to pad the routine and provide comedy and surprises along the way to the magical conclusion.
The Bobo and KidStuff books teach you all about this with good, kid-tested routines. You'll learn all the funny bits, lines, etc. kids really eat up. And you'll also get a lot of really valuable info on packing your show, routining, actually handling and warming up the kids, etc
Most of the tricks you'll end up doing are very basic and easy to do. But these books will give you a good understanding so you can come up with effective patter, presentation, etc. Which is really the name of the game with parlor magic. With closeup, you often spend months or years working on sleights because the audience is so close. With parlor, the aparatus does most of the physical work, but presentation is key. At the top of the list are acting, character formation, patter, humor, audience involvement, interaction with gestures and expressions. Manual dexterity is way down at the bottom of the list.
I would also strongly recommend "Insider Secrets" by John "Doc" Morrissey. A newer book, probably available thru Magic Inc. If not thru them, Bob Brown will know where to get it and post that info here. John's book has no tricks, just really solid advice on how to work for kids, strengthen your presentation, and build a performing character. Also a "workbook" section for you to use, improving your skills as you analyze your thinking and performances.
By: Dr FB
It looks like you have gotten some pretty sound advice from everyone and I
guess I'll throw in my two cent's worth. I currently do kid's shows
exclusively, mostly daycares but also tons of birthdays. I'll have to
agree with Olde Rabbitt on Ginns material, although he is one of the guru's
of kidshow's, (especially the school shows) some of his books were
dissapointing. But hey, he's written over 60 books and I have used a ton
of his ideas. If you plan on performing for the little ones I would
suggest getting Sammy Smiths books. They have great material for the
younger kids, and most of it is using the standard props most of us have.
I was also very impressed with David Kayes recent booklet on "Performing
The Perfect Kidshow Trick". It doesn't have routines but discusses how to
take virtually any trick and develop it into a first class kids "routine".
(For those who don't know who David is, he is "Silly Billy", NYC's hottest
chidrens entertainer). Just remember performing for children is 90%
entertaining, 10% amazement. It's the "schtick" that they love. Take it
from me, I am a real goofball with them, but it fits my character, and they
continue to book me year after year! Good Luck and most important, have
fun!!
By: Bob Dennis
Scrolling down the list of posts, you will see that there has been some
questions asked about doing kidshows and some great recommendations for
books on the subject.
I've got a little over one hundred kidshows under my belt now, so I thought I might contribute some information that I've found helpful.
I won't repeat the excellent recommendations on books, videos, or audiotapes that were posted earlier. I'll just include some things that I didn't see posted.
One of my favorite books on the subject is "The Birthday Magicians Handbook", written by Dave Fiscus. It has 8 routines in it, but its real value is in all of the other information in it.
It covers every thing you could think of, pertaining to the business of doing kidshows. All real world nuts and bolts info. It's like the kidshow performers bible. Of course, that's just my opinion.
The book was printed in 1980, I bought my copy used, but it was just reprinted. I have read in ads for it that it has even more info added to it now. I know that you can buy the book from Sammy Smith, but other dealers may also carry it.
Another excellent performer who makes his living performing exclusively for kids is Dave Risley. Kids absolutely love his shows, he is truly one of the best. He sells videotapes and audiotapes. He makes his living doing shows for Daycare centers. He has hundreds of daycares as clients. That alone speaks for itself.
I hope some of you may find these recommendations helpful. I sure did.
By: Michael
I am looking for the best book on Kid Shows - a book that addresses
the philosophy, psychology, handling the audience, as well as
tricks. Is there such a book? Any suggestions?
By: Tighedini
I have many books on kid shows and in my opinion, by far the best is
David Ginn's Professional Magic for Children. There are other very
good ones but you asked for the best.
By the way, it seems to come up on eBay fairly regularly for between $10 and $15, which is a steal Chappy Brazil would have been proud of.
By: Olde Rabbit
I found the Frances Marshall "KidStuff" books to be very helpful. I
believe there are 5 volumes, available from Magic Inc. If you are
interested in doing shows for the wee ones, Sammy Smith has some
excellent info, especially his "Kiddie Patter & Little Feats". There
is also a book by J. B. Bobo titled "The Bobo Magic Show", detailing
his routines, etc., for school assembly shows.
There seems to be two schools on what constitutes a good, commercial kidshow. One school, of which Ginn is a proponent, relies heavily on keeping the kids laughing, punctuating the magic with a lot of gags and some slapstick. The other school, of which Marshall and Smith are/were proponents, relies more on fantasy, wonder, stories. The former is more uproarious, the latter more tame, but both equally effective.
I doubt if one form of presentation is any better than the other. Both seem to really entertain the kids and please parents, sponsors, teachers, etc. It's more a matter of which type of presentation you feel comfortable doing.
By: Richard Parker
Dave Fiscus' Birthday Magician's Handbook has excellent kidshow
material in it, from advice to tricks to handling parents to
everything.
By: Shuja
Performing Magic for Children by Uwe Schenk & Michael Sondermeyer is
considered THE book on kidshows by many, many people.
http://www.isawthat.com/en/store/pmfc.html
It's also available from www.dennymagic.com, www.magicsmith.com, and many other dealers.
David Ginn is also great...buy all of his stuff from one of the above dealers.
By: Steve V
Hello all, just a short review of the recently advertized book
Performing Magic for Children written by two German fella's, one named
Uwe and the other Michael, both last names start with the letter 'S',
sorry I didn't note it this morning.
Let me start by saying it is nice to read a book on performing style written by people who really understand the subject. It is obvious that Uwe and Michael did their research and observations of children and how the development of children come into play. Child Development and the phases of development are often ignored but have a real impact on how magic is perceived and accepted by children and adults watching a childrens performance. I'm very familiar with this field (side note: my wife is a child developmental expert and when she was in college I typed all her reports and proof read them, so I read alot on this subject). The information in this book is accurate and helpful and will open a few eyes on what can be expected from the kids and the method of presenting magic. The writers show a real understanding of kids and do not try to present magic as anything more than what it is and they know how to entertain the lil' folks.
The second half of the book is a break down of Uwe's and Michaels shows. Both perform for a different age group and have different styles. They showed an unusual amount of respect to the creators of effects and routines that are marketed by NOT tipping them but refering you to purchase the effect. The effects and presentations they did present were very clear, well written, and are solid pieces of magic. Because the book was originally written in German some of the jokes won't fly in English but they do make reccomendations for performance in English speaking countries. The translation was very nicely done.
I was very impressed with this book and highly reccomend it to those who want to entertain children in schools or birthdays. My hat is off to the writers and translator for an excellent effort.
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