The Magic Behind Your Childhood Books

During a recent interview I was asked: “What was my favorite book as a child?” I didn’t have to think too long about the answer. Two books came to mind almost immediately, and both ironically have the word “magic” in their titles.

The first one is Spooky Magic, a Scholastic book written by Larry Kettelkamp, first published in 1955. It’s filled with instructions and illustrations on how to do magic tricks for your family and friends.

As a young kid, I was always fascinated by magic. I’m sure I practiced doing some of the tricks from this book, especially with my Mom. She was always up for a guessing game.  I’d say, “Come on, Ma, pick a color.” It was easy for me to know if she’d choosen green or red, but when I came up with words like turquoise or burgundy, she’d give me one of her incredulous looks.

I was almost flawless at these guessing games, but I didn’t think too much of it at the time. When guessing colors became boring, I’d move on to numbers and letters. As time went on, I got better and better at these games. Here I was indoors practicing my own “sport,” while other kids were perfecting their batting techniques or pitching skills. Sometimes I wonder now whether I was just practicing a game or remembering skills from a past life and fine-tuning my earliest intuitive abilities.

The second book is A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan. This is a Pocket Books paperback first published in 1971 about a grandmother and grandchild who share a psychic connection between them.

I remember this was one of the first books I ever found that covered the topic of this special awareness—what they used to refer to as extrasensory perception, a sixth sense or a paranormal ability. Even then, as a grade-school student, I was fascinated by the subject of psychic intuition. Signs and little clues have always been there throughout my life of what my soul purpose is in this lifetime for me. It’s not surprising I went on to become a spiritual medium and used my gift, talent and abilities to help others.

Your soul and your intuition will often nudge you in the direction of a book or a resource that you need to explore. What books have fallen into your hands lately?