Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780060850944)

Who was this man who could walk through brick walls and, with a snap of his fingers, vanish elephants? In these pages you will meet the astonishing Houdini--magician, ghost chaser, daredevil, pioneer aviator, and king of escape artists. No jail cell or straitjacket could hold him He shucked off handcuffs as easily as gloves.

In this fresh, witty biography of the most famous bamboozler since Merlin, Sid Fleischman, a former professional magician, enriches his warm homage with insider information and unmaskings. Did Houdini really pick the jailhouse lock to let a fellow circus performer escape? Were his secrets really buried with him? Was he a bum magician, as some rivals claimed? How did he manage to be born in two cities, in two countries, on two continents at the same instant?

Here are the stories of how a knockabout kid named Ehrich Weiss, the son of an impoverished rabbi, presto-changoed himself into the legendary Harry Houdini. Here, too, are rare photographs never before seen by the general reader

Author: Sid Fleischman
ISBN-10: 0060850949
ISBN-13: 9780060850944
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Language: English
Published: 08/01/2006
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.76lbs
Size: 10.38h x 7.36w x 0.76d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.6
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 109453 / Escape! the Story of the Great Houdini

Award: Sydney Taylor Book Award - Notable
Award: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards - Honor Book
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Massachusetts Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Cybils - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2006 pg. 166 - Recommended - Readable
Kirkus Review - Children 06/15/2006 pg. 632
Publishers Weekly 07/10/2006 pg. 83
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2006 pg. 463
School Library Journal 08/01/2006 pg. 136
Booklist 08/01/2006 pg. 74
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2006 pg. 66 - Book Of Special Distinction
Kirkus Best Children's Books 12/01/2006 pg. 6
Booklist 06/01/2007 pg. 89
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2007 pg. 171 - Superior,Well Above Average
SLJ's Best Books 12/01/2006 pg. 38
ALA Best Books Young Adults 01/01/2007 pg. 1