Written by Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by Mar Delmar
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2026. Biography.
In this illustrated biography, rather than focusing on Houdini's life, the story is told through his love of books. Houdini's love of books began as a child reading from his father's collection—which was eventually sold to pay for rent after the family immigrated to America. His love of magic was also tied to his love of reading—he learned magic from a book that he later considered burning to keep the secrets of his magic tricks safe. Throughout his life, Houdini grew his collection and even travelled with a special folding bookcase the magically housed hundreds of volumes. By the time of his death, his brownstone in New York held 15,000 volumes that were later donated.
In addition to the interesting narrative focus on his life, readers will be intrigued by the beautiful gauche and cut paper illustrations. Kids who like magic and who like history will both find a lot to love about this book.
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