Friday, July 5, 2024

Reading is Magic: 5. Magical Creatures: Magicians vs Wizards

Magicians are different from the other creatures I've written about so far  because as  adults we would question the magic that a magician does and put it down to showmanship and sleight of hand, but young children don't think the same way, they are often convinced there is magic.

When I looked in the dictionary it said that a magician is 'one skilled in magic'; 'an entertainer who is skilled in illusion by sleight of hand and deceptive devices'.  It then lists enchanter, sorcerer, wizard, necromancer as synonyms which puzzles me because in stories their magic is not that of the entertainer or showman. Can a female be a magician? Yes, but they may be called an enchantress or a witch.

So really this word deals with two different things as far as reading and books are concerned. Firstly, the magician who does 'magic tricks', wears a top hat and pulls rabbits out of his hat.



                                                                                                                              


    
                                    
                                            
                                                                                    
    
















Secondly there is the magicians in children's literature  who do magic like a wizard or sorcerer does. Merlin was the magician in the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Picture book versions of his stories are hard to find.








Harry Potter and Dumbledore are J.K Rowling's well known magicians. Gandalf is the magician from The Lord of the Rings.

Paul Dukas wrote the music for The Sorcerer's Apprentice  which he based on a long poem by Goethe. The poem tells of a sorcerer who can turn a broomstick into a real servant. The sorcerer's apprentice overhears the magic formula and, one day when the old man is gone, he tries it out. There are many picture book versions of this story.









Then there are all the wizards that are in children's picture books and early chapter books...who are usually fun characters, not overly wicked in any way.

Popular wizards in the library are:
Woozy (three titles by Elli Woollard)
Oliver Moon (10 titles by Sue Mongredien)
Fred (3 titles by Simon Philip)
Raymond ( Princess Minna series 6 titles)
Mr Majeika (14 titles by Humphrey Carpenter)

And often my best book discussions come at the end of The Garden of Abdul Gasazi  by Chris Van Allsburg. Was he really a magician? Why? Why not?



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