There is no right or wrong when comparing magician vs magician. It is up to the magician her/him self. We all have different characters and personalities. It is best to be yourself. If the kids are not being entertained, something is wrong. If every magician did the same presentation, it will get boring for kids.

Any trick can be used. It all depends on how the tricks are presented to the children. If they leave happy, you presented the tricks well. If they leave bored, the tricks were not presented in a good manner.

I am a clown also. I wear a blue colored nose to match my hair. Other clowns tell me I should wear a red colored nose like other clowns. When those clowns see my presentation, they shut up.

Buskers told me what I should and should not wear when I explored busking. I wore what I wanted to because I wanted to feel comfortable. I wore a flashy style outfit. Guess what? It worked.

I am flexible when it comes to kid shows. Some shows I use more silliness. Some shows I present the magic in more of a mature manner. I always read the audience when I arrive to the venue.

The Great Zucchini presents his shows with tons of silliness. He gets a lot of bookings because of his skill.

On the other hand,
I can guarantee there's no magician who spent years studying the art of magic and entertainment before they did their first kids show.

Everyone does a first show... all of them bad.

The best we can hope for is that a new magician learns that he's bad as soon as possible, so he can get on with it, and begin to learn.

Before you are great you have to be good. Before you are good you have to be bad. Before you are bad you have to try.

I'm a tad confused here, with all due respect. He's not asking about doing a show for 'whomevever', he's asking about doing a show for his 5 year old granddaughter. I believe that people are taking themselves a tad too seriously, here. Of course, he can do two tricks, etc, 10 tricks, he learned the night before and be called a magician, by his granddaughter and her friends. He's a hero to them and can be called whatever they see him to be in there eyes. It's their perception and their realty, not ours, and what we deem appropriate for how they see her granddad.
Also, I don't mind having a discussion about this, respectfully, of course, and hope it stays that way, but in my opinion lots of you believe that it takes more skill to be technically sound, with magic, then to have a show that is more the 'silly route'
Look, it's just a different philosophy, but they both take skill. You talk so much about the 'classics' as a badge of honor to the # of years you've worked on perfecting your art and you say it works for all ages.
I believe that you may do a show where you might have older kids and adults, with the occasional 4 or 5 year old still watching, so your assumption, is that every child is being entertained. It might a correct assumption, however, there is a huge difference in performing for a room full of 4 year olds, and that's a skill in itself. Yes, they might watch your show with blank amazement, and stares, but the bellylaughs, that are imperative, in my opinion to really entertain this age, need to be met with silliness that if done well, takes as much skill as the classics.
Let's also look at the word, "'classics' In the eyes of a 5 year old audience, a mouth coil, might be a classic to them. I do lots of magic in my show, however, not one trick, I do would be deemed a classic by any magician that watches my show. I don't care.
However, a 5 year old seeing sugar disappear or water(slush powder), ketch up bottle, whatever, sees something not making sense to then, it's always the journey, and not the trick, that I feel keeps these kids on the edge of their seats and silliness, is a skill as well.
There is a perception I don't use magic, by other magicians, I do, but it's magic, in their eyes, and that's who we need to impress, not take away from a grandfather, who's being called a magician in the eyes of his granddaughter.
I only threw myself into this, because I'm obviously going for the laugh, more than the, 'he must of spent 30 years practicing that' effect, but Frank, I'm sorry, I always feel you're condescending to the a different philosophy than the so called classics you've worked on.
My question and please be honest, do you ever entertain at a preschool or kindergarten, and if so I'd love to see video of you just doing classics, without silliness I will be the first to say I was wrong if I can see evidence of this age group being entertained without. Thanks for listening

Remember, a good entertainer that borders on silly has spent 30 years, working on timing, instinct, intuition and connecting with their audience, and perfecting a skill and different way of entertaining and that's ok, too. It doesn't make them less of an artist.

Btw, I'm not just talking about me. Lots of performers do it different ways, but it's it's the result we are all after, right?

So, we're debating the ‘silly magician’ versus the ‘skillful magician’

I would agree, in general, the ‘silly magician’ works better for pre-school to K audiences. However, the ‘skillful magician’ can be very entertaining to preschoolers as well, especially when a fair amount of silliness is incorporated.

I think its important to note that if you don’t have the skill to be a ‘silly magician’ you can come off looking just as amateurish as the ‘skillful magician’ who has no skill. In other words, I believe it takes just as much skill, if not more, to entertain children with silliness than doing skillful tricks. It goes back to knowing how you are gifted.

I saw The Great Zucchini's show once and thought it was very, very funny. The kids LOVED it! But if I tried to act like that I’d look like a fool! In fact, I tried a couple of Zucchini's jokes and bits and they fell flat. The kids looked at me like I was an idiot! It’s not me. Now, that’s not to say my show does not have some hilarious moments, but I’ve found a way to entertain this age with a combination of both skill and silliness that fits my gifting and personality.

Think about Mr. Rogers. He was not silly at all but children were mesmerized by him! He had some silly characters on his show, but he was not silly. Can you imagine Mr. Rogers acting like The Great Zucchini?

So, to the OP, I’d say try to find what’s you and do it. Of course, its very hard to do that in one show. After 35 years I’m still trying!

Great points, Ken. Hope you're doing well, my friend. I just see too many posts from people that act like any entertainer that borders on silliness, has a lack of skill or is disrespecting the art of what we all do.
His granddaughter calls him a magician, so what people, it's no biggie, and doesn't take away from your art or skill. He doesn't need to learn the classics, for this age and he can still call himself a magician, with a bunch of self working tricks if he wants. Call me, Op, and I will help you design your show in a half hour.

This is an offer you should not refuse! Trust me on this one.

I think silliness is a talent and skill that many lack, so when people see it performed badly, they assume it is the fact that it is silly, not a poor performance. Zucchini is a master of entertaining and controlling audiences to take them on a true journey.

There is a difference between "silly" and "funny". I feel kids above 8-9 still want funny, but frown on the silly.

You might have said the magic word, Joe. A lot of my shows in daycare centers I start off being silly. The kids laugh at me and say "You're funny." It seems all ages want "funny."

Joe, definitely, you're right. Silly is more for the 2-7, older kids, would appreciate the magic, etc, with more sophisticated humor. All I'm saying is these people that say they do classics for preschoolers, while eliminating the 'silly, I'd like to see it. Does anyone have video on that?

Just to add on to what I said earlier, I don't think you need to be a clown like Silly Billy to do a silly show. For kids under eight I think silly is the way to go. I've seen other magicians do it other ways, but I don't think it works as well. If it works for you, great. But my advice is do silly. For very young kids I'm not sure there's a distinction between "funny" and "silly."

Thinking about some great kids magicians I've seen, I'd define all their performances as "silly." Tommy James, Christopher T Magician, Gary Dunn, etc. Silly can be frantic and fast paced like Tommy James and Silly Billy, or it can be at a slower pace like much of Christopher T Magician's show.

Maybe we can split hairs on what "silly" is, but anytime I've seen someone present a straight magic show to kids it's always so boring with no energy. And if you try to be silly without being funny it doesn't play for young kids. Their sense of humor is different than older kids or adults.

Again - just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.

Yeah, you need to read the room and adjust as needed. With kids 7 (or 8 or 9 or even 10 year olds sometimes) and under, I usually do the high energy silly stuff, get as many laughs per minute as I can. I do 1/3 to 1/2 vent now with the younger kids, but I also like them to feel like they've seen "real" magic also. Which, like Eric said, can be simple stuff like pulling a silk ribbon out of a kids ear. But I do Misers dream, original stuff, and other stuff that makes them feel like they've seen a magician. Each group is different, sometimes with parties of 9 and 10 year olds they are in a fun mood and the silly cute stuff works better, but more often they want to see stuff that they feel is impressive and cool, but still mixed in with some comedy. In any case, don't be boring!

It took me years to develop my Chinese Ring Routine. People recommend this for a 5 year old? Really? This is just a Grandpa who wants to entertain his 5 year old Granddaughter.
Also, thoughts on running to a Magic store and trying to be an instant Magician by buying tricks or buying an Entertainers DVD and being a Copycat is not a good idea. Just because something works for someone does not mean it will work for you. I took me years to find out what works for me. Better yet, just do Magic routines with home made items from around the house. There are books on this and it saves you money. He is not performing a Stage Professional Kids Show for a School of 400 people here. Cheers!