It’s magic time

Young Chang

Was it magic? Hardly. Discipline was more like it.

But tricks and turns definitely had a hand in making Jeff Martin the

reader he is today.

With a dictionary at the table and complicated British books about

magic cluttered around, Martin remembers learning words such as “whilst”

and “talon” as a boy who wanted to be like magician Chuck Jones, whom he

saw as a student at a Buena Park elementary school.

“When I was a child, I was not considered very bright,” Martin said.

“But because I wanted to learn magic, I had to read books in order to do

it.”

Today, he not only suspends women on brooms and kids on chairs, but he

knows that the word “whilst” means “while.” In magic speak, “talon” means

“the remainder of something, the half that remains when you pull

something away,” he said.

And when he performs at Newport Beach Central Library -- as well as

other branch libraries this week -- as part of his involvement in the

library’s eight-week summer reading program, he will share his

philosophies on reading between magic acts involving live rabbits and

doves.

“I have a short routine that’s kind of autobiographical,” the

42-year-old Chino Hills resident said, “as far as talking about the

importance of reading and magic, which was out of a book, and about how

valuable a library is.”

As a full-time magician, Martin said he spends his days trying to make

everyone from members of corporate America to kids at libraries smile.

College professors are the toughest crowds, he admits. Kids and their

families are the easiest.

“Kids and adults, having families enjoy something together is the

biggest thing I like,” said Martin, who performs often at the Newport

Beach library.

His wife, Pam, who is his business manager and traveling roadshow

companion, agrees that the smiles are what make the job worth it.

“I think, with all of the demands that we place in our lives, with

working and careers and family . . . to see something that places a smile

on your heart even for a little bit is neat, to be able to have the gift

to do that,” she said.

The personal touch is also valuable, the manager added. With

television so much a part of children’s lives nowadays, it’s rare to see

something in person.

“And to let [the kids] know this is something they can learn through

books,” she said.

Martin is still proud of the fact that he went from needing a

dictionary as a young boy to reading at the 12th-grade level by the time

he was in seventh grade. And the result has been nothing short of

magical.

“The main thing is being able to put joys in people’s hearts,” he

said. “And it’s very rewarding to me.”

FYI

WHAT: Magician Jeff Martin

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Newport Beach Central Library; 3 p.m.

Wednesday at the Mariners Branch Library; 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the

Balboa Branch Library

WHERE: Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave.; Mariners

Branch Library, 2005 Dover Drive; Balboa Branch Library, 100 E. Balboa

Blvd., Newport Beach

COST: Free

CALL: (949) 717-3801