Reading Programs
Discover the Magic within Books
A 50 minute program that uses sleight of hand, crazy comedy, and lots of student participation that will magically motivate young people to want to READ. During this terrific program students will learn how books can magically take us to new places, meet famous people, and learn how to do about anything. Plus, they will get to meet Joseph’s friend Bob the Bookworm, which is an experience they will never forget.
The Award-Winning Rubik's Cube Manipulation Act
Rubik's Cube disappears, appear, change sizes, and a few other surprises that happen in the blink of an eye. He may even turn a Rubik's Cube into a "live" rabbit. You simply have to see it in person to believe it.
Bob the Bookworm
A terrific educational effect which promotes reading and creates hysteria among the children. I show five giant cards depicting different kinds of books and stories you can find at the library-fairy tales, history, adventure, geography, how-to books, and-wait!-here he is!-Bob the Book Worm! But Bob is a tricky fellow, and before you know it, he has disappeared and his card is completely blank! Where is he" The students guess, you guess, but nobody can find him until he makes his surprise reappearance which leaves children hoarse and gasping.
The Magician
One lucky person gets to dress up as the magician and perform a magic act for everyone. The object is showing how anything can be possible if your get a good education and read books.
The Money Act
A couple of students/children gets to be apart of Joseph’s famous signed money inside of a kiwi. The object of this effect is to leave the student spellbound as everything goes wrong because we did not following the instructions in the magic book. In the end, everyone is happy because students Discover the Magic Within Books.
"I have to admit that I cringed when I saw that a magician would be among the performers at our library's annual summer reading program. Any magicians I have seen in the past have been amateurish and unoriginal. Frankly, I wasn't expecting a lot. However, Joseph Young is just a magician in the same sense that Emeril is just a cook; in other words, he has to be one of the best magicians in the country! Despite the fact that I was with him as he set up his props and readied his act, his sleight of hand was such that I was surprised and delighted with each new trick! And I wasn't the only one — the adults and children in the audience were absolutely spellbound. To his credit, he even attracted and held the attention of the town's teenagers, a demographic not easily impressed. Not only was his magic mind-boggling, but Joseph is also a really funny guy and a positive role model; we librarians appreciated the emphasis he put on 'The Magic of Reading.' No one should pass up an opportunity to see him perform — and to try to figure out how the heck he manages to get that twenty dollar bill into the kiwi!" —Kate Conklin, Pamunkey Regional Library System (West Point Branch)
