The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life

Delivery Time: 7 to 15 Working Days Format: Book

The man with the spats rolled up his sleeves and proceeded to pluck a polished red billiard ball out of thin air. Presto! It vanished. Abracadabra! It reappeared. It turned white. it blushed red again. VoiIá! Suddenly there were four billiard balls between this amazing man's fingers.

I was stunned. All of this was happening right under my nose. And there was more. He flipped the deck into falling waterfalls of cards, spun them into fans, and thrust a sword through a shower of cards to impale the seven of diamonds -- selected a moment before.

I was dazzled. The moment he finished his act and ushered us gawkers back onto the sidewalk, I knew what I wanted to be. Someone else could be president of the United States.

I wanted to be a magician.

Sid Fleischman, who started out life as a magician, has pulled off a truly magical feat with Abracadabra Kid; he has crafted a captivating and instructive book for kids about what it is like to be a writer. A prolific author and the winner of the Newbery Medal in 1987 for The Whipping Boy, Fleischman tells in engaging brisk style how he worked his way from boy magician to Hollywood scriptwriter to award-winning writer. His experiences and his dozen tips all combine to provide useful and inspiring fodder for aspiring young writers.