Author: Linda Soules
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction / Middle Grade
Year Published: 2026
Nerdection Rating:
“Nerdection Must Read”
So You Want To Be A Magician by Linda Soules is a charming and surprisingly thoughtful look at a profession built on secrets, timing, and wonder. It takes a subject that many children already find exciting and shows what truly lives behind the curtain: practice, psychology, storytelling, patience, and respect for the audience. The result is a colorful nonfiction guide that feels both entertaining and quietly meaningful.
Spoiler-Free Plot
The book walks readers through the world of magicians and how their craft works. It explains the difference between the trick itself and the feeling it creates, showing that magic is not about supernatural power, but about attention, memory, expectation, and performance.
Readers learn where magicians work, what tools they use, how much they practice, why misdirection matters, and how a simple object like a deck of cards can become something extraordinary in the right hands. The book also explores famous magicians, useful vocabulary, fun facts, and practical steps young readers can try if they are curious about learning magic themselves.
My Take on So You Want To Be A Magician
What makes this book enjoyable is the way it keeps the mystery alive while still explaining the craft behind it. It never ruins the magic by making it feel mechanical. Instead, it shows that the real beauty of magic is not only in fooling someone, but in giving them a moment where the world feels bigger and stranger than they expected.
The strongest part of the book is its focus on the human side of magic. I liked how it connects magic to wonder, memory, laughter, and the emotional reaction of the audience. The section about how magic can make people feel childlike again gives the book more heart than I expected. It also handles the ethics of secrecy well, reminding readers that a magician’s job is not to embarrass people, but to protect the feeling of surprise.
The illustrations are rich, theatrical, and full of deep stage colors, which fits the subject beautifully. They give the book a classic magic-show atmosphere, from close-up card tricks to grand illusions and backstage spaces. The book also does a nice job showing that magic is not effortless. It is built from lonely practice, repeated mistakes, careful storytelling, and a lot of patience.
Overall, So You Want To Be A Magician is a warm, engaging guide that captures both the sparkle and the discipline of magic.
About The Author Of So You Want To Be A Magician
Linda Soules writes the So You Want To Be A… series for ages 8–14 — illustrated nonfiction that meets curious children at the moment they begin asking what they want to be, and treats that question with the seriousness it deserves. The series now spans more than 180 titles, from astronaut to zookeeper, each one exploring not just what a career looks like but what it asks of the person who chooses it: the wonder, yes, and also the hard parts. A former investment management attorney with twenty-five years of practice, Soules brings a researcher’s precision and a thinker’s respect for her young audience to every book. Her work has been recognized by Readers’ Favorite, BookLife Reviews, and other editorial sources. She lives with her husband and two children in the Pacific Northwest.
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