Tricks sure to disarm even someone with a bad case of the grumps.
A sunny array of card, coin, and doodad magic tricks presented in step-by-step format.
Much of the pleasure of Banfield’s show-and-tell guide to trickery is the sheer joy he brings to the project: “The truth is I get such a rush from the moment I absolutely astound someone with a cool trick.” To introduce each of the four broad categories the 52 tricks are divided among, the young white man offers some basic tools of each of the trades. Within those categories, each move for each trick is shown in numbered sequence and is easy enough to follow with the eye, but it is best to remember Banfield’s words at the beginning of the book. Rule No. 1 is never reveal the secret to a trick: that would take the magic out of it. Rule No. 2: “understand, practice, and master each trick before you perform it.” And rule No. 3 is to enjoy the thrill you give. Tips complement each trick, but they are not shortcuts. They might aid in showing how to add grace to a move or how to distract an audience for that critical, magical second. Banfield has also got a sense of humor: for the “Mind-Reading Code” trick, “you will need: a good memory and an accomplice.” Lastly, Banfield has a magic smile. It is exactly the same in over 60 photographs. Pretty amazing.
Tricks sure to disarm even someone with a bad case of the grumps. (Nonfiction. 8-16)Pub Date: July 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68297-151-2
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Quarto
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gleefully providing ammunition for snarky readers eager to second-guess misguided beliefs and commands of grown-ups, Rondina dishes up the straight poop on dozens of topics from the cleanliness of a dog’s mouth and the relationship (none) between French fries and acne to whether an earwig could really crawl into your ear and eat your brains. Since she cites no readily checkable sources—support for assertions comes in the form of quotations from experts in various fields, but there is no bibliography—it’s hard to tell how accurate some of her claims are—it would be nice to have a citation to the JAMA studies that debunk the sugar-hyperactivity connection, for instance—and too often she provides only an unsatisfying “You Decide” instead of a clear “True” or “False.” Still, it all makes painless reading equally suitable for casual dipping or reading straight through, and Sylvester’s pen-and-ink spot art adds further light notes to every page. An extensive closing catalog of familiar “Parentisms”—“I’m not running a taxi service,” “Because I said so, that’s why,” etc.—adds a chuckle-inducing lagniappe. (Informational ephemera. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55453-454-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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