The Houdini Box

Title:  The Houdini Box

Author: Brian Selznick

Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Publishing Company:  Atheneum books for young readers

Copyright date: 2001

Number of pages: 64

Genre: historical fiction

        

       I chose this book because I noticed the author.  We had to read a different book by Brian Selznick, The invention of Hugo Cabret, and it was a great book.  I loved the art and story line.  There is just something about the research that Brian Selznick does in the books that make them wonderful.  Naturally, when I saw this book, also by this talented author/illustrator, I had to check it out.  In this story, a young boy named Victor desperately wants to be like his idol, Harry Houdini.  He doesn't really think he has a chance, but he follows Houdini’s performances and successes avidly.  The book is based on factual events that occur during Houdini’s tours and with his tricks.  The box that the boy was given is actually the box of Houdini’s greatest tricks that is rumored, through newspaper articles, to exist in real life.  Although, the box itself has never been found the excitement and history behind it is still alive today.

         

The illustrations in this book are very similar to those in other Brian Selznick books.  He uses charcoal and pencil shading to create the vivid and almost life–like pictures that adorn the pages of this book.  The only colors used are grey and black.  He makes great use of texture and shading to bring these illustrations to life.  Actual posters from the tours of Houdini are also used throughout the book’s pages.  The text placement is formal; the words are opposite the pictures on most of pages.

          The book is written and targeted towards children ages 6-9; however, readers of any age could easily enjoy this book.  I know that I did!  I would use this book for history projects about famous people in our history.  I would also use this book to motivate children to read.  It would be a great read aloud for those few minutes that you sometimes have between activities.  I would use this book when studying map skills, possibly during a study of New York.  It would be a great book to use to introduce children to the historical fiction genre.  I would even use this book as a way to encourage children to not lose sight of their dreams.  At this time, surprisingly, this book has received no awards.