Hello



Lions and tigers and books oh my! This is the theme for our local summer reading programs. Wild animals.... anybody have an interesting wild animal trick idea?



I have to carry it in my SUV so a girl to lion is out. If you have an interesting idea let me know



Thanks

Mr Phil

I saw a suggestion about using animal playing cards possibly from Walmart or the like. These could be adapted to a number of routines.

The post I saw was about doing a twisting the aces where a helper chose one card and the magician the other three. The magician got the three he chose to turn/roll over, but only the helper could turn over the one they chose.

The basic idea of animal cards should have many applications. If you are artistically gifted you could even draw your own animals.

Just the first thing off the top of my head...

David Ginn has a few animal effects with cards on his video tapes.

Supreme put out Farmyard Frolics and I used that a lot. But there was a Zoo version which Edwin said in one of his books was a rip-off of FF.
Anyway, I got the Zoo version in a Convention auction before I had read the Edwin claim and got better reaction with it!
Sometimes I do the standard routine but at other times I leave out the re-appearance of the monkey because I have a set of large wands (from Supreme) and one of them unrolls to show a monkey with a space where the face should be.
So I turn a volunteer into the monkey. Because it is bigger and I make sure they are part of the joke, not just the butt of it, it goes well too.
Another of the wands is a rabbit and I will sometimes turn a volunteer into a
"magician's assistant" (rabbit). Dumb maybe, but the kids pretend they like it.

In my Showtime column in the Linking Ring magazine of July, 2001, I have a routine called Noah's Ark that uses five different pairs of animals to a Noah's Ark theme.
(Q: What was Noah's wife's name?
A: Joan of Ark)
You could make the cards up in any size from standard playing cards to jumbos and, since you have to make them yourself anyway, you can fit the chosen animals to whatever theme you are using.
If you are interested and can't find that issue of the Linking Ring, e-mail me and I'll send you the routine.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

Great News!!!!!
I just got the word that I was accepted on the list of approved performers for the Summer reading programs here in New Hampshire. This means that the Libraries can qualify for grants for my show. The awesome part is that little Libraries that can't afford me now, can. My summer is looking better.
Thanks for all the advice in this topic as it helped.

Mr Phil
we are all estatic here at Mr Phil and CO

Mr. Phil: That is terrific. We at the Cafe congratulate you. It is great to know that this site was instrumental in you getting such a prestigous job Again, congratulations.

I designed a "Reading Safari" routine for Coca-Cola and Reading is Fundamental that they used last year (and continue to use this year) in their national StoryTraveler tours.

It's based on a Jim Steinmeyer idea of using coloring books and a prediction theme. The original version is to predict what type of cocktail each of a group of audience members will select. Their "drink menu" turns out to contain only pictures of that drink.

I wrote a routine about the "Geography Giraffe," the "Literature Lion," the "Mystery Monkey" and the "Poetry Parrot." Three kids come up and are asked to hold onto their "safari guidebook" while we discuss how much you can learn by reading books in each genre.

Next, the kids decide which animal they like the best out of the 4 possibilities. Then we put a custom-printed mask on them that matches their selected animal. Then the books they are holding are shown to contain only that animal.

Amos McCormick of Jackson, MS helped me get the books printed and cut, and designed the artwork for me. It has been a fun part of the show according to the people who run the tour.

Actually, the whole 15-minute show is based on the theme "Reading Takes You Places." That's just one of the routines I designed for the tour.

I would ask that you not duplicate it directly, but if you have the capacity to design and produce a few custom coloring books you may find ways to adapt the idea to your own needs.

Just trying to be helpful,

Joe M. Turner

I like to magically make snakes, using a special box and recipe sent to me from Steve Erwin (the Crocodile Hunter). Using my best Australian voice, I show the box (tip over box) to be empty, and show the recipe card. I have one child come up and sit to the side. He/She reads the special "Snake Recipe" that is typed on the card. As they read, I add the ingredients: two springs, fangs (nails), skin (colored silks or fabric depending on your load), special formula (colored water from milk pitcher), and then a vial of venom (small tube of water with green and blue food coloring). By shouting the magic word, the kids help make two 5 ft. plush snakes.

Then there's ALWAYS some gags you can do with spring snakes! Heh, Heh, Heh!

Good Luck!

David