This story glosses over so much of Harry Houdini‘s life. It’s a picture book so it’s not meant to be in depth, but every point is given at most two sentences. This book would’ve been better if they focused on one or two things instead of trying to put his life on 32 pages. There are other books, especially picture books about Houdini. All of them are done better.

I absolutely love this series! I would recommend it to young readers to get exposure to the diferent people. The illustrations, timeline, and extended biography at the end were spot on.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Harry Houdini is another great addition to this fabulous children's biography series LITTLE PEOPLE BIG DREAMS.
Erich Houdini was an amazing escape artist and magician and this great short biography outlines his life and career. I learned things I didn't original know about Houdini in this book and this inspirational man definitely deserves a place within this series.
The only criticism I can add is that I think there should be a warning to children reading this book to tell them they should never attempt these tricks with chains, cuffs and water as Houdini did as some adventurous little souls could attempt them in admiration.
The illustrations are fabulous and brightly portrayed throughout this adorable read.

Ehrich Weiss and his large family emigrate from Budapest, Hungary to the United States. Life is hard and when his father loses his job, Ehrich goes to work to help his family. After watching street performers, he becomes a trapeze artist at the age of nine. He eventually gets a job workinf at a Lock Smith’s Shop and learned how to quickly pick locks. He began performing escapes, and became famous for being able to get out of anything, handcuffs, chains, ropes etc. While reading about another famous magician, Robert Houdini, Ehrich changes his name to Harry Houdini, in homage to his hero. He never revealed his secrets and some of his illusions have never been solved. Little Ehrich, better known as Harry Houdini becomes one of the most famous entertainers ever.

I continue to be impressed by the subjects of the Little People, Big Dreams books. Harry Houdini shows us that "The Impossible is Possible!" and this is a great message to share with children. These child friendly biographies are short and sweet, bringing highlights of their lives so children will get a taste and some motivation or inspiration. This is a wonderful book for children interested in magic. The illustrations by Juliana Vido are perfect for this book. The colors and graphics were wild and bright, reminding me of the various magicians and illusionist I have seen. As always, the backpages include a timeline, some photographs and references or other books to read. I love Harry Houdini's thinking, that limits are an illusion and life is really magic. A great message for young people.

5★
“It remains one of the greatest mysteries about little Ehrich, the boy who believed that limits are just an illusion and that life is really magic.”

Houdini! That single name is synonymous with magic! The little boy Erik Weisz, who migrated to America from Hungary in 1878, became Erich Weiss and later became the great Harry Houdini! He borrowed the name from a famous illusionist he admired whose surname was Robert-Houdin.

But first, the migration.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
Harry, four years old and already looking like a little showman

They lived in Wisconsin where Harry had to work to help support the family, so he couldn’t go to school.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“The streets became his school, and the acrobats and magicians performing on every corner became his teachers.”

By the time he was nine, he’d practiced enough on a trapeze at home that he began an act himself.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“He announced himself as the ‘Prince of the Air’ and flew over the heads of the open-mouthed audience.”

He later worked at a locksmith and started working on card tricks, which is when he adopted his stage name, the only one we really know. He started entertaining people with cards and then adapted his locksmithing skills to inventing escape tricks, which is where he really rose to fame.

He fell in love, married, and they joined a circus – as you do when newlywed! They were quite an act.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“The circus was a big rolling family, where everybody teamed up to bring the show alive.”

The other way Harry made himself known around the country as they toured was to visit all the police stations and demonstrate his escape skills.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“In the blink of an eye, his escapes made it to the headlines of the local newspapers.”

When he went to Europe, he became so popular after tricking the London police that he even performed as the Handcuff King for Russian royalty.

Later he became famous for his underwater escapes. People gathered to see him jump off bridges.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Thousands of eyes were watching……but no-one realized that Harry had untied his handcuffs before he hit the ice-cold water!”

Only his assistant, Jim, knew how he did that, but even he was nervous when Harry did his most dangerous escape, which people still talk about today – chained, hanging upside down in a tank of water.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“… the audience held their breath along with him. And so did Jim.”

There are other tricks (disappearing elephant!) and pictures, as well as the usual more detailed bio with four photographs and the recommendation of a ‘real’ book about him.

I enjoyed the artwork in this one. I thought it suited Houdini's rather mysterious, showman persona as well as the styles of the times.

This introduces to children one of those unique people who are identified instantly by only one name. I think his has become generic for an illusionist – ‘Who do you think you are? Houdini?’

Thanks to Quarto’s Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for the copy for review.

Harry Houdini is another great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series! I enjoyed learning about his childhood and young adulthood and what brought him to becoming such a renowned illusionist. The illustrations are adorable and descriptive of the time period. Young magicians will enjoy this one!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, illustrator/author for a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. I have read a handful of these books and I always really like them. Even as an adult, I think I learn quite a bit every time when it's a subject I've never really read about before. I didn't know much of anything about Harry Houdini before going into this book. I thought it was straightforward and informative, told a long story very briefly without sacrificing value, and has some really cute illustrations. These would be great for a classroom or young reader's home collection.

4✨

This is the story of the king of handcuffs.
The little boy from Hungary who challenged the impossible and became the greatest escape artist.
Harry's family emigrated to the US when he was four. He was inspired by magicians and acrobats and used the tricks he learned as a locksmith to impress people with his escape abilities.

Thai was such a lovely read. Very inspiring.
The art and illustrations were just breathtakingly beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto publishing for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Netgalley provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Harry Houdini by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is part of the Little People; BIG DREAMS series that introduces kids to interesting historical figures. This book is about the great Harry Houdini, the infamous magician and entertainer, and how he got his start in the entertainment business. The pictures are vibrant and full of life and the information is written in a simple but fun way. I think this series is amazing for kids and I'm glad to see so many inspiring figures highlighted in the series.

Life is really magic

This is another book of the Little People Big Dreams series, designed to inspire and motivate young kids to follow their dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Harry Houdini, especially with all the colorful illustrations and interesting life story. A good addition to the series.

A little boy who emigrated to the US with his family when he was little, then worked in his youth to help the big family survive as a trapeze artist, Houdini then learn to pick locks, and use it for his magic tricks. Harry proofs that nothing is impossible to do when you have the motivation to do it.

This was a fascinating Little People, Big Dreams. I knew nothing about Harry Houdini and this book was a great intro. While his tricks were impressive, I found the piece about training soldiers to learn how to escape being handcuffed to be the best part! What a nice way to use your skills to help others. This is my favorite series of child biographies. I buy them for gifts all the time and I know this one will be another one I purchase!

A picture book biography of escape artist and illusionist, Harry Houdini. The book outlines his immigration to America at a young age, the different jobs he held to help his family make it, and how he eventually rose to fame for his escape tricks and illusions.

There were some interesting tidbits in here about Houdini’s life I had never heard before, such as how he helped train soldiers in WWI how to escape from restraints if captured. This book completely focused on Houdini’s family and occupations, with the climax being how he became world famous. An introductory biography of the famous magician that I found much more interesting than I expected. Recommended for curious readers and libraries needing more biographies about immigrants and people in the arts.

No content issues [based on the ARC].

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the latest in a series that is designed to painlessly educate and engage young children through telling the stories of well-known adults who, of course, were once children themselves. Each title in this series includes simple text, good illustrations and back sections with extra resources.

This time the little person with a big dream is young Harry who grew up to be an amazing magician and escape artist. Children follow him from his time as an immigrant to America named Ehrich, through a career that included performing for royalty and teaching American soldiers in WWII how to escape restraints. Still…be sure the child that reads this knows not to try Houdini’s stunts themselves!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto-Frances Lincoln’s Children’s Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

We love these books. There’s so much information and all age appropriate.

My son loves magic so it was amazing to read about Harry Houdini. I’ve known about him my whole life and there was information in here I didn’t know.

These books are wonderful to introduce your younger children about really important people.

This was a good installment! I really like the color palette used by the illustrator. Here, I found the narrative a bit choppy, a little out of sequence like key history points were missing, but it is still just a picture book, so it is a good intro.

Thank you Netgalley, dear author and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange of honest review.

This book totally caught me off-guard! Did you know that Harry Houdini's real name is not Harry Houdini? I didn't know that's for sure. It contains so many remarkable information about this genius figure who made himself unforgettable in the history of magic and escape art. His birth name was Erik Weisz and he was born in a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary. His family immigrated to USA when he was young and they started living in Wisconsin. After his father lost his job, their family fell into poverty. Houdini who could no longer continue education, took several jobs, observed performers on the street and learned from them. By the time he was nine, he was working as a trapeze artist! Like can you believe that? He also worked as a locksmith and spent hours picking locks which came in handy later in escape art. He shocked people all over the world performing tricks and stunts no one else would dare. He could free himself from all sorts of handcuffs and bonds, even in the most frightening conditions. None but he knew the secrets of his performances. In my opinion, the greatest magic of Houdini is the magic inside him, that enabled him to turn impossible into possible. I don't want to spoil the book, so I am not going into further details but it is truly an amazing read. There's so much more to know and I really really hope everyone will read this book. The illustrations were fantastic. I was getting boss baby vibes from Houdini. Well, he was the boss. Highly recommend it.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Little People, BIG DREAMS series are excellent biographies for children, and Harry Houdini was no exception! The illustrations were vibrant and fun, but didn’t distract from the text. I enjoyed the added timeline at the end with photographs. Would recommend to parents of young children.

Id never heard of Harry before so it’s always nice to learn about new people and what a badass he is! I think it’s so awesome how he taught soldiers to escape restraints - just such a good use of his gift. Really enjoyed this and the illustrations were gorgeous - I love the bright colours. “life really is magic” - the perfect closing sentence

An informative and easy-to-understand book recounting the life of Harry Houdini and how he rose to fame. Would be a great addition to any classroom’s collection on famous people as I believe many students will find his life interesting!