Quick Summary: An imagination adventure

My Review: The Magician's Secret written by Zachary Hyman and illustrated by Joe Bluhm was a delightful story about a young boy and his grandfather. The boy's grandfather spends time teaching his grandson about the power of make believe. They go on adventure after adventure, from the past to the present. Traveling from and to near, they learn about keeping up a spirit of believing and achieving.

My Final Say: This book was inspiring. I absolutely loved the message. The illustrator did a masterful job making the book come alive.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: C/Y

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to this work.

Great book, love this author and how they can keep my attention to the end! The plot is well developed, characters are believable and they obviously paid attention to detail to make the story worth your time to read.

“The imagination is the most powerful force in the world.”

Charlie loves spending time with his Grandpa, who not only used to be a magician but also lets him eat sugary treats. They have the most fun, though, when they explore the contents of the Magic Story Chest, an old wooden trunk in the attic.

Grandpa can weave the most marvellous tales from the seemingly ordinary objects in that trunk, adventures that come alive in Charlie’s imagination. An hourglass from Tut’s tomb. The Red Baron’s scarf. Grandpa even has an exciting story to tell about a coconut shell.

When Charlie’s father tells him that Grandpa’s stories aren’t true, Charlie isn’t sure what to believe so he asks Grandpa about it.

This is such a lovely story about the magical bond between grandparents and grandkids, and the importance of imagination. I adored Charlie’s Grandpa and wanted to keep investigating the contents of the Magic Story Chest with him. I bet he still had lots of wonderful stories left to tell. I would happily read this story over and over again.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, for the opportunity to read this book.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has the characters of a boy and his grandfather. The pictures are very eye catching. It encourages the importance of imagination. I thought the story was easy to follow and fun.

The Magician's Secret is a picturebook written by Zachary Hyman and illustrated by Joe Bluhm. Charlie loves when Grandpa comes to babysit because he always brings his magical imagination. Grandpa was a magician who knows the most amazing tricks; he can pull a rabbit from a hat and make a coin disappear. But what Charlie loves most are his wonderful adventure stories, and they all begin with something his grandfather has saved in his Magic Story Chest. An hourglass is a reminder of how he defended the treasure in King Tut's tomb from raiders. A long white scarf inspires the story about Grandpa's dogfight with the notorious Red Baron, the great First World War fighter pilot. A coconut shell heralds the story about his encounter with a nasty Tyrannosaurus Rex. Charlie's parents, though, aren't too sure they like Grandpa's stories and warn Charlie that they're just "tall tales." What is Charlie to believe? How can his grandpa convince him that all you need to do is believe and a dream can be turned into something real?

The Magician's Secret is a wonderful story about intergenerational relationships, and the power of imagination. Charlie's grandfather tells him fantastic stories, and he love the bond they share. However, his mother worries that he is taking the stories too seriously when they could not have really happened, and tells him that they are all pretend. When I love that Charlie feels safe enough with his grandfather for clarification, too often connections with adults can have barriers that prevent this kind of honesty and openness. Grampa assures him that while he might not have actually lived the adventures, that does not mean the stories are not real. They come from dreams, from imagination, from exploring. I love tat this encourages Charlie to dream big, to read, to explore, and most importantly to have his own adventures and stories to tell.

As lovely as the story is, and its message, I also loved the artwork. The illustrations have their own story to tell, and are crisp and lovely to look at in their own right. The book was a delight to read and I hope it becomes a favorite.

First off I loved the cover. The story is captivating. The illustration were great. I got caught up just looking at them trying to see it all. I am definitely going to give this to my son to read.

When we first begin the story we are told that the Magician's Secret is the wonderous and unknown factor of Magic. Even though magic plays a role in grandpa's life (he was a magician), what Charlie really treasures most is his time with grandpa in the attic telling tales about grandpa's life and adventures with the items inside the Magic Story Chest. Stories of grandpa in a dogfight with the Red Baron...Rat-A-Tat-Tat...stories of how grandpa outwitted a T-Rex... Zing! Zing! Zing!...and more. It tells how sadly, most grownups have lost their ability to imagine great big daydreams of possibilities. To this grandpa tells Charlie that they don't have faith in make-believe anymore and that using your imagination can do amazing things like turning a dream into something real. Grandpa teaches Charlie that magic is not only all around us, it's in us too and there's tremendous power in Belief. This book not only has beautiful pictures but a beautiful message to boot. I think we all could stand to remind ourselves to stop and take some time out of our very important/serious/responsible day and just think incredible thoughts and dream miraculous dreams. The power of imagination and belief are not only crucial to the development and wellbeing of our kids but we as adults could stand to be reminded every now and again as well. The Magician's Secret does just that. It is written very well and flows nicely. Sure to be treasured by your little believer.

The Magician's Secret is a really fun, cute and adventures story about the power of imagination and the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather.

I seriously loved this book so much!! It was such a great story for both adults and kids! The artwork was beautiful as well!! I have not seen a kids book better than this in such a long time!

'The Magician's Secret' by Zachary Hyman with illustrations by Joe Bluhm is a wonderful read aloud picture book with a good lesson at it's heart.

Charlie loves to spend time with his grandfather. His grandfather was a stage magician and tells Charlie the most amazing stories. There are dogfights with the Red Baron and close escapes with dinosaurs. Charlie's father tells him they are all tall tales, but Charlie's grandfather has a secret and he shares it with Charlie.

I really loved the lush illustrations in this book. The moral of the story is pretty good too. I've learned the secret of Charlie's grandfather, and I think it's one all children should know.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I found this children's picture book to be quite enjoyable! A story of a beautiful and touching relationship between a grandfather and grandson, and the importance of using your imagination. The story itself was long, but I feel like it would be a good read aloud book. The illustrations were beautifully colorful, and much fun! I will certainly be recommending it to my friends that have young children.

I received this from #NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good book showing the relationship between the generations and using our imaginations. Our imagination can take us anywhere at anytime, dream big. This will be a good read for my granddaughter.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A little boy shares how much he loves spending time with his grandfather, a man who used to be a magician and who shares fantastic stories with him. Crestfallen when his father tells him grandpa’s stories are just tall tales, the little boy confronts his grandfather and is given inspiration instead of heartbreak.

This reminded me a little bit of the movie Secondhand Lions with a little boy being inspired by adventurous tales of an older relative. The conclusion of this shares that imagination is important for inspiration and helping people achieve things that were previously thought impossible. I think that’s true. Let kids exercise their imaginations. And I think it is important for kids to have an adult in their lives who will imagine with them and share their fun. This grandfather is one wise man, and he’s the best babysitter ever. A great read for grandparents/grandchildren and to inspire creativity. The illustrations are fun too.

This book was cute. The illustrations were perfect and the story itself kept me wondering what the next adventure was going to be. I rather enjoyed the message beneath it all about how imagination is important and it inspires us to make things happen. I would definitely read this to the kids at the preschool and I know they would love it.

I loved this story! It hit home on so many levels! My aunt used to tell me stories and take me on adventures. When she passed away, it was these memories that helped me through! The message of the story is clear- imagination can take you anywhere, anytime because you believe it could be true! Remarkable things happen when we learn to properly use our Imaginations!
The illustrations in the book were also outstanding and really helped drive the plot. I especially loved Mr. T-Rex!
I would highly recommend this story anyone with little guys! To help further their growth of imagination and to teach the lesson of the story!
Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review this short!

This was charming and slightly different than I expected. I've gone through a few magician-focused illustrated children's books, but this wasn't so much about magic as it was about the magic of imagination. A clever twist than what most would guess from the cover. For an adult, we can see the twist ahead, but for kids,, it may not have been so obvious. Nice art, too.

The Magician’s Secret is a departure from Zach Hyman’s earlier work. His previous two children’s books are sports tales, whereas this new picture book has nothing to do with sports. The Magician’s Secret borrows from many of the greatest adventure stories you can think but melds them into an exciting new story about a young boy and his Grandpa. Charlie loves staying with his Grandpa. His favourite time is when they go up to the attic to the Magic Story Chest. Every story starts with a special item removed from the Chest.
Some of the best stories start with a teller. We have all experienced being told a story, one without pictures. It forces you to use your imagination, to picture what is happening. Being witness to a storytelling is a very powerful and moving experience so it’s no wonder it’s Charlie’s favourite time. I can remember my uncle, a fantastic storyteller, extolling us with the adventures of The Big Black Fly. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of those quiet moments.
A great story about a grandparent/grandchild relationship is a really powerful thing. It serves as a reminder that our elders have some pretty amazing stories to tell. They grew up in very different times than we and have so much perspective and some really great stories to tell.
Joe Bluhm’s art in this book is spectacular and seems drawn right from a Disney movie. His art has such incredible detail and movement; you can almost see the pictures moving across the page. The vivid pictures will captivate and the story will keep you coming back time and time again to this wonderful picture book.

Love the story. The relationships, adventures and messages. Long but great read aloud.

This is a really cute children’s book. I love the encouragement of imagination.

I really liked this magical story.

We need to be better about blurring the line between what we experience and what we can imagine. Not to force our kids into a make-believe world where they can’t relate to real life, but to help us imagine where real life can take us.

The art style was great, too!

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>