The Big Box of Magic, by Peter Eldin

It's a box full of tricks that will amaze, amuse, and mystify friends and family. Kids can stage their own magic show and perform stunning tricks, most of them simplified versions of magic devised by more than a dozen famous magicians including Robert-Houdin, Joseph Dunninger, Houdini, David Copperfield, and Robert Selbit, the first magician to "saw a woman in half." An enclosed 48-page color-illustrated book, The World of Magic, is filled with instructions for performing the tricks, as well as an entertaining history of magic and magicians, and advice on how to learn magic and present tricks to an audience. Most tricks are described and shown in two-page spreads. They include a knot that disappears when you blow on it . . . paper balls that jump out of the pocket and into the performer's hand . . . a coin that comes magically out of a bread roll . . . and eggs that come out of an empty bag. There are also card tricks, mind-reading tricks, comedy tricks, and much more.