Houdini's Library
How Books Created the World's Greatest Magician
Random House Children's Books · Print & ebook · February 17, 2026
A fresh and fascinating picture book biography about the iconic magician Harry Houdini, an avid book collector who lived and breathed the idea that books are magic, from the author of Caldecott Honor book The Noisy Paint Box.
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- Who it’s for
- Explore Houdini’s lifelong reading habit and collection of rare, unusual books.
- Themes
- Harry Houdini’s life, Love of reading, Magic and book collecting
- Genres
- Performers' Biographies for Kids, Books & Libraries, Magic Tricks
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For older readers: The Secret History of Magic, The Science of Harry Potter, The Magicians Trilogy Boxed Set
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A fresh and fascinating picture book biography about the iconic magician Harry Houdini, an avid book collector who lived and breathed the idea that books are magic, from the author of Caldecott Honor book The Noisy Paint Box. Houdini is the world's most beloved magician, and he became famous for all of the amazing tricks he accomplished. Houdini knew just how to captivate his audience, whether it was leaping from a bridge or freeing himself from a straitjacket.
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But in true magician's fashion, he kept a secret so great that not many people knew about, and that was his love for books! As a young boy in Budapest, Harry learned to read at his father's knee. After the family emigrated to America, Harry grew up to be the amazing Houdini--but never lost his love of reading. He spent the rest of his life collecting all kinds of rare and unusual books, almost entirely about magic. With warm, inviting text and astounding art with miniature models constructed from paper, this extraordinary book opens a new page on the story of Harry Houdini.
Houdini’s Book Collection
Explore Houdini’s lifelong reading habit and collection of rare, unusual books.
Come here for
- His father taught him to read in Budapest.
- He collected rare and unusual books, almost entirely about magic.
Expect
- Warm, inviting text.
- Art featuring miniature models constructed from paper.
Where it sits
| Performers' Biographies for Kids | 87% |
|---|---|
| Books & Libraries | 64% |
| Magic Tricks | 45% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Kids Biographies
- Magic Tricks
- Books & Libraries
- Authors
- Barb Rosenstock
- Publisher
- Random House Children's Books
- Published
- February 17, 2026
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Harry Houdini’s life · Love of reading · Magic and book collecting
- Reading lane
- Kids Biographies