The Houdini Box - Tapa dura

Open this book and come face-to-face with the greatest magician of all time -- Harry Houdini! Victor is forever trying to escape from locked trunks, walk through walls, and perform any number of Houdini's astonishing magic tricks...without success. Then -- amazingly -- he actually meets his idol and begs Houdini to explain himself. A mysterious locked box is the magician's only answer, and Victor is left to wonder: Does the box contain the secrets to the most famous magic tricks ever performed? As spellbinding as a virtuoso performance by Houdini himself, this illustrated storybook for all ages combines captivating mystery and mesmerizing historical fiction, and as a bonus, offers a biographical note about Houdini. Equally strong as a read-aloud or a read-alone book, The Houdini Box conjures up the pure pleasure of an old-time magic show.

Brian Selznick also wrote and illustrated The Boy of a Thousand Faces. Among the books he has illustrated are The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan, which was a finalist for the Independent Booksellers Award, and Frindle by Andrew Clements, which won the Christopher Award. Mr. Selznick lives in Brooklyn, New York.