HOUDINI'S LIBRARY

HOUDINI'S LIBRARY by Barb Rosenstock. Illustrated by Mar Delmar.

How fun that I had planned to share this book today WITHOUT KNOWING that it's Houdini's birthday! He would have been 150 years old! I'm a Barb Rosenstock fan and saw she had this new picture book coming out.(If you like nonfiction picture books and aren't familiar with her, definitely look her up.) I ordered it with the idea of reading it around April Fools Day.

I don't know about you, but I grew up being amazed by the idea of Harry Houdini. I can remember learning about him a little bit in school and was immediately hooked by his ability to escape just about anything!

Rosenstock pulls back the curtain to give us a behind the scenes look at the life of Harry Houdini. She shares about his growing up years and how he got his start in magic. We become aware of the influence his father who was a lover of books had on him. Houdini himself amassed an amazing library worth a fortune over his lifetime and was known to carry a special folding bookcase that housed one hundred books that travelled with him. Of course, she wouldn't leave out the amazing feats he accomplished that kept his crowds awed and made him an infamous performer. There is no doubt why to this day we still hear the name of Harry Houdini! This is definitely a fun and very interesting book to read!

ILLUSTRATIONS - I can't close the cover of this book without commenting on the AMAZING illustrations! Mar Delmar is a master of artwork and the pages of Houdini's Library attest to that! Delmar is a paper artist. What does that mean with regards to this book? Every page is a created diorama. She sketched, cut, painted, organized the pieces together into a picture, applied light, and photographed the results. They are unbelievable!

HEADS UP - There is no doubt that Houdini had an interest in spiritualism especially after his mother died. The book does not go into that. However, in the Author's Note, Rosenstock mentions that his library contained books on spiritualism and it mentions the title of a book called The Discoverie of Witchcraft (misspelling on purpose) from the 1500s that was known for rope and coin tricks.