Other editions of book Black and Blue Magic

From a three-time Newbery Honor author: Harry Houdini Marco had it hard enough as a normal clumsy twelve-year-old—but growing wings made it even worse. Except for his unusual name, Harry Houdini Marco is unremarkable in every way. While his namesake was the greatest illusionist of all time, Harry can’t even catch a ball. He is on the verge of a long, boring summer—and he is dreading every moment of it. Then he meets a mysterious traveling salesman named Mr. Mazzeeck. But Mr. Mazzeeck is more than a traveling salesman, he’s a wizard—at least, he claims to be. Before he leaves town, Mr. Mazzeeck gives Harry a bottle of magical oil, saying that the potion will give him wings. And to Harry’s amazement, the oil works: He gets wings! Now he just has to figure out how to use them. This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

Harry Houdini Marco had a difficult life when he was a normal, clumsy twelve-year-old—but growing wings made things even harderExcept for his unusual name, Harry Houdini Marco is unremarkable in every way. While his namesake was the greatest illusionist of all time, Harry can’t even catch a ball. He is on the verge of a long, boring summer—and he is dreading every moment of it. Then he meets a mysterious traveling salesman named Mr. Mazzeeck. But Mr. Mazzeeck is more than a traveling salesman, he’s a wizard—at least, he claims to be. Before he leaves town, Mr. Mazzeeck gives Harry a bottle of magical oil, saying that the potion will give him wings. And to Harry’s amazement, the oil works: He gets wings! Now he just has to figure out how to use them. This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

"You must be very careful, Harry!" the strange Mr. Mazzeeck warns before he leaves. "This magic oil is extremely powerful! And remember, no one must ever find out!" "Find out what?" Harry wonders now. Carefully, he rubs the oil into his shoulders, and feels a strong tingling sensation. He rusehs to the mirror and sees them-- spreading out behind him, from his head to his ankles! "Wings!" Harry gasps. As he fans them slowly, he feels himself lift off the ground. "Whoopee!" he shouts. "I can fly!"

You'd think that someone with a name like Harry Houdini Marco would be deft and skillful, but Harry could only occasionally catch even an easy fly ball without making some dumb error. On top of that, most of his friends' families were moving to the suburbs. It would have been a long, dreary summer, but then a Mr. Mazeeck showed up and turned out to be more than he seemed. This now classic book was first published by Atheneum in 1966. It was selected by Scholastic Books for inclusion in the Arrow Book Club and later republished in a Dell Yearling edition in 1988.