The Incredible Twisting Arm

The Incredible Twisting Arm by Kate Egan is a story about a boy name Mike who loved magic. Mike is not a very good student in school but he really wanted to improve. He find out that the magic shop he loves so much is having a special magician come for a show but it happens to be on the same day as his grandmother's birthday party. He wishes he could go but instead of being upset, he makes a plan to gain more privileges so he will be able to ride his bike down to the shop without his parents. He decides that maybe if he works harder in school or shows his parents how responsible he can be, he will be able to gain the extra privilege. Mike finds out that his science teacher is going to offer extra credit for creating a science experiment using everyday household items. Mike feels that this can be his way to be able to ride to the magic shop alone.

I feel that this story can relate to many students in upper elementary school. Not everyone is the best student but some want to change that. This story would be great for students who are just entering fourth or fifth grade because that is about the age of Mike. Teachers could use book to teach students that there are many ways to show responsibility and earn respect from parents or adults. This book would also be fun to use in science class to do some of the experiments and magic tricks. Parents could also read this book their children of this similar age because it will explain to them how they can gain the trust of parents. I would recommend this book for any child who loves magic because it teaches the reader a lot of tricks that would be fun for any young magician. This book is also the second book of a series called The Magic Shop.