Magic tricks for 8-year-olds

Magic at 8

Eight is the age with the most tricks in the shop: almost every one fits, from the one-minute pencil to the first real sleight of hand. It is also when the Wizard level begins, the tricks that take a few days of practice in front of a mirror before anybody else sees them.

An eight-year-old can put on a whole show: an opener, a helper trick, a trick for everybody and a closer. The show builder puts the order together from the tricks they have learned, and the printables give them a running order to keep on the table.

By level, 43 Apprentice (works the first try), 26 Conjurer (a little practice) and 5 Wizard (days of practice). They come off 6 shelves of the shop, most from The Everyday Shelf (15) and The Card Cabinet (15). What you need most often: paper (18), cards (15), a coin (14), and 7 tricks need nothing at all. 6 tricks have a step a grown-up does (something hot or a bright light), and 19 tricks carry the choking note for brothers and sisters under 4. The quickest to learn is The Rubber Pencil (1 minute); the longest is The Vanishing Coin (3 to 5 days).

Buying a magic set for an 8-year-old? Read which magic kit, honestly first: most tricks on this page need only what is already in the house.