Anna, Banana, and the Magic Show Mix-up by Anica Mrose Rissi

Author:Anica Mrose Rissi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S&S Books for Young Readers
Published: 2019-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen Magic or Math?

“What’s on the list?” Isabel asked. She scooted closer to Sadie and peered at the notebook. I did too.

“First is ‘marked cards,’ ” Sadie said. “That’s when the backs of the cards are marked with secret symbols, so you know what’s on the front without looking. I don’t think that’s what Justin did, since he didn’t even see us choose our card.But I put it on the list anyway.”

Isabel and I nodded. It was smart of Sadie to list every possibility, just in case.

“Next is ‘sign from a helper.’ That’s if you have a magician’s assistant or a spy in the audience who knows what the card is and gives you a secret hint, like a hand signal or code word,” Sadie said. She narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at Isabel and me. “Heeeeey, did you tell Justin our card?” she said. Her voice was like a cartoon detective figuring out the case.

I played along. “Oh no! You caught me!” I said. We all giggled. That clearly wasn’t the answer. And no one else had been nearby when Justin did the trick.

Isabel read the next thing on the list. “ ‘Prearranged deck.’ My book has some tricks like that too, where the cards are arranged in a certain order before you start. There’s one where you put all the red cards together and all the black cards together. The trick is, you split the deck into two piles and have someone take a card from one pile and put it in the other pile. Then you pretend to do all kinds of magical things to help you figure it out. But you’ll know immediately which card it is because it will be the only red card or only black card in that half of the deck.”

“That’s sneaky,” I said. “But Justin let us shuffle before the trick started. He couldn’t have had the cards in order. I mixed them really well!”

“We know you did,” Sadie said.

I leaned over to look at the last thing on the list. “ ‘Pattern or math.’ What’s that?” I said.

“Those tricks are my favorites,” Sadie said. I wasn’t surprised. Sadie loves math. Her brain is really good at it. “You lay down the cards in a pattern, and the pattern helps you figure out what the card is. I tried one from my book last night that works really well. It seems like magic but it’s actually math. I wish I had cards so I could show you.”

“Wait! I bet I can make some appear.” I reached into the pocket of my sweatshirt and pulled out Mrs. Shirley’s giraffe cards. I was glad I had them with me. “Ta-da!” I said.

Isabel clapped at my “magic trick.” Sadie reached for the cards. “Perfect!” she said. She slid off the rubber band that was holding the deck together. “Okay, so for this trick I only need twenty-one cards. I’m going to put them in three rows of seven.”

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