I work for a library in a small town in Illinois. This guy is part of a book distribution company - so he was our salesman. He offers free magic if you get books. I felt really awkward right away. I took over for the previous librarian that retired. He kept saying he was a superstar, just strange things and was making odd faces. I got so uncomfortable. I called the retired librarian and she said "Yeah, I always tried to avoid our meetings. Just buy the books online and tell him no to the magic program. He weirded out our parents." So that's what I did. We had a great storyteller come in for a summer reading instead - - she was a peach! read more

I saw this "entertainer" do a show at a library near me just recently. I use the word entertainer lightly. Nothing actually seemed like magic- I mean- there were a few things didn't seem to go right- and a LOT of it seemed to require no skill. But free is free I guess. The adults afterwords mentioned that it was pretty crumby. Also- he had this used car salesman feel about him. Sort of greasy/uneasy. I think I would hire elsewhere for a kids party. Maybe someone with actual skills as a magician that didn't talk down to the kids or act like he had better things to do. read more