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Funny Magic for Funny Kids
Any Child Can Learn Magic!
Not every child can get into Hogwarts Academy. But children out here in the muggle world can still reveal their true gifts by embracing their inner magician – and crack up their audience while doing it.
"Magic is very popular right now," says Steve Charney, author of Hocus Jokus: How to Do Funny Magic. "From books to movies to television, it's everywhere."
Charney says children are at the forefront of the interest in sorcery and slight of hand. He adds that just like any child can make people laugh, any child can learn magic.
"Kids want to learn about disappearing coins, optical illusions and other tricks," Charney says. "But they also have a natural drive to amuse people. Put the two goals together, and you develop a highly-entertaining child who will never get bored."
Here are three tricks from Mr. Charney's book guaranteed to amaze your child's audience – or at least make them laugh.
This trick requires a deck of cards, a working phone and a trustworthy accomplice (perhaps you).
To do it, your child invites some friends over to the house. He announces that he wants to introduce them to his mentor, "The Wizard."
With great fanfare, he has one of his friends pick a card. Your child looks at the card and says that he will call the Wizard, who will magically announce to everyone what the card is, even though he is miles away.
Your child then makes a phone call and asks for the Wizard. "Hello, Wizard. Is that you?" he asks when his mentor comes to the line. "Can you tell my friend what her chosen card is?"
Your child then hands the phone to his friend, or even better, switches to speakerphone. Your friend says hello, and the Wizard announces her card on the first try.
How does your child do it? Magic and a little deviousness. The key is that your child and his accomplice have worked out a system. When your child asks for the Wizard, the accomplice starts reciting card numbers (i.e., "deuce," "three," "four" and on up to "ace") until your child says, "Hello, Wizard. Is that you?" when the right number has been said. This tips off the accomplice as to the number of the card.
The "Wizard" then starts reciting suits (i.e., "clubs," "hearts" and so on) until your child says, "Can you tell my friend what her chosen card is?" This lets the accomplice know what suit has been picked.
All that remains is for your child's friend to say hello, and the booming voice of the Wizard will announce the exact card.
