I bought Mental Die, & Mental Dice which I think are awesome tricks. But the children I performed it for wondered how I did the trick but were not awe-struck.
(I am an amateur and I perform the tricks for free).

Does anyone know any tricks that are easy to perform but will really appeal to children? Something like the Magic Coloring Book.

General advice, then I will list some suggestions.

Tell a story with the trick. Kids won’t really care about the puzzle of three ropes changing length, but they don’t forget about my frustration when I harvested my spaghetti trees.

Failure is a great option! I take at least 5 minutes to vanish a little silk hankie. I start out cocky, talking about how I will do the most amazing trick in all of magic, failing over and over, but introducing things I forgot, like how we have to say magic words together, wave a magic finger, and so on. I always claim a reason it didn’t work, adding more and more actions the kids have to do.

Involve the kids in the magic! As above, they say magic words, wave their “wand finger,” etc. but have them hold props or similar.

Prolong the process! How much time can you get from a trick? Play with the kids and make it about the journey, not the ta-dah.

So, with a mental die trick, get the number wrong. Then say you forgot to have them concentrate properly, fail again. Then remember you need to stand on one leg with your tongue out while they concentrate. Then they need to do the same. By now, you have failed 4 times and it should be getting really funny to the kids. Finally, recall that you need to close your eyes and flap your arms like a bird. 5th fail. Ask what the number is. “Hey, that was going to be my next guess!” Then offer to show them the cheater way to do it. They select a new number and you pull out a long usb cable. You and the kid each hold one end to your forehead. You threaten to tell his mom he didn’t eat his lunch in first grade because he had a cupcake she didn’t know about. Then pretend you are sorting through his memories for as long as it remains funny. Finally, make a huge deal about finding where he stored the number in his brain. Work your way to the reveal and tell him the number. Act exhausted.

Suggested tricks:
Water suspension in a dollar bill. I tell kids the new money is made from recycled toilet paper. So if it is real money, it absorbs water really well. Borrow a bill. If it is older, roll it up into a loose tube and pour a little water right through it. “Nope, that’s older money. Who has a new dollar?” Wrap it around a TT and pour the water in. Then turn it over and squeeze the water out. Return a dry bill.

Cut and restored rope. But either tell a story with it or otherwise create a journey for the kids.

Produce a rainbow streamer from a TT. Make it as silly and involved as you can.

Devil’s Napkin. I once had a how-to sheet inspired by the Vanishing Bandana trick. I had one kid read the directions as I followed along so we could all learn together. I borrowed a cheese stick from a kid in the class and vanished it. For years, I would hear a kid say “Chet’s cheese stick!” When they saw me.

Buddha papers. Borrow a penny and fold it in the papers. Talk about the ancient Alchemist goal of making gold from base metals or else the Midas touch. Unfold to show a golden penny. A cheap can of gold spray paint and a roll of pennies has you prepared for 50 performances.

Honestly, most simple tricks can be great fun if you don’t just do them quickly. Try to fill 10 minutes with a single trick.

Patrick

Check out Quentin Reynolds "5 Minutes Wth a Pocket Handkerchief " you can find the performance
On youtube. Kids find enjoyment when the magician screws up. Dropping things, tripping, a Magic trick doesn't go right. You can structure routines with those characteristics worked in.

Thank you so much.

How old are the children?

The Grant Rope trick always works great with kids since the magic happens in their hands and the story line can be varied
according to the mix of kids, nationality, etc. Then you can transition to other open effects as desired.

Teaching them a simple trick can also play well - and make your stuff seem more impossible.

Would you do this with every trick or just a few here and there

Sucker napkin trick from Mark Wilson course.

No not EVERY effect. There should be a balance as with any show. I learned a vanishing scarf routine where
I would push a scarf into my closed fist and supposedly unknown to me would just drop to the floor. I would show my hand empty showing the scarf disappeared but the kids would scream pointing to the scarf on the floor. There was more to this routine but it was fun for the kids and the climax of the effect was magical.

Adding to the "prolong the process / get the kids involved" - utilizing props like the breakaway wand can add howls of laughter to the routine.

A lot of card tricks can work well for children if you use cards with pictures instead of normal cards.
EG 3 Card Monte; Cards Across

On reflection, we need to know the age group you are focusing on.
For kids 8 years up most all magic effects will work if presented properly. Some change in storlyline may be required.

For children under five you are a clown entertainer and it does not matter.

So, the problem age is 5-7 when their minds are in transition.
It would help to know if they were electronically babysat or have actual tactile experience.
Since you may not know, your fist effects should be focused on finding out with various shifts prepared.

On the plus side, you have the opportunity to give then a unique experience of awe&wonder. You can't lose - but get paid in advance.

As someone who has done A LOT of kid's shows for over 42 years now I can say that most tricks are not that "hard" technically speaking. Not like the "knuckle-busting" sleight of hand and manipulation that I do close-up with cards or coins. The hardest part of a kid's show is keeping them in their seats, or behind the tape. Also keeping their attention, since their attention spans can be very low depending on their age. What I find works best are ?magician failing" type tricks and "sucker gags" as well as "sucker tricks" with a magical ending.

Tricks like "Run Rabbit Run," "Sucker Die Box," "Tricky Bottles," "Hippity Hop Rabbits," etc. I have heard some of the loudest screams and laughter I have ever heard doing these types of effects, and they always want to storm the stage to "turn over the rabbits!" only to see a bright yellow and green rabbits. Gags play really well also like the "Breakaway Wand," and "The Multiplying Wands." I also use "The Vanishing Ketchup Bottle" a lot and a realistic plastic tomato, and "The Vanishing Coke Bottle" as well.

The hardest part is just keeping the kids interested and engaged, and these types of "sucker/challenging" tricks really get them screaming, and it is always funny at the end when they are left in silence and in shock with the magical finish. I also do a lot of genuine "magical looking" tricks as well, as I feel it is important not to just do comedy gags like some magicians do.

That is the type of magic that attracted me to magic as a kid at age 7, magic with very nice looking mysterious, shiny, and gleaming props. Magic that fooled me as a kid, and totally blew me away which then made me want to learn it myself. But comedy magic and gags is a big part of the show, and will keep the kids screaming and pointing at you when they think they got you, only to find out that they were wrong and completely fooled, yet also entertained.

For some good examples look at some of Tommy James' videos which are great, as well as Silly Billy's book and DVD. I have a vast array of material though collected over 42 years but those are two mainstream names. I also have a lot of books by Francis Marshall Kind Stuff 1-6, The Success Books 1-4, and a lot of David Ginn books and DVDS. You can see samples from all these performers on YouTube.

Also "Steve Dacri's Magic Party Show" is one my favorites, and I still have the VHS tape from 1992. It is performance only mostly except at the end, he teaches "The Paddle Trick" and "Coin Through Rubber Into Glass" tricks that come with it. But I already knew all of the tricks and got it more so to study his presentation, and the kid's reactions.

Kids love trying to "bust the magician," and all the "sucker gags" and "sucker magic" induces huge laughter from the kids as well as the adults. They love giveaways too. Kids shows are a whole art in themselves, and everyone has their own style. Some do shows as a "magic clown" and do balloon animals which I also used to do long ago. So it is all a matter of personal preference.

It is also important to have a good storyline for your tricks and routine to keep their attention. You can use the one that comes with it AKA "canned patter" and later on make it more your own. You can turn patter into themes like "Safety Shows" using "Stratosphere" or "The Joker Tube" to talk about "traffic lights," or "Anti-Bullying" themes etc. But also throw in some hard hitting and amazing magic as well as I said, and have assistants come up for some tricks as well.

So I like to do a variety and use those types of themes as my base. I use a lot of regular parlor props and kid's magic props, and make up fun storylines and comedy gags or use or modify existing ones. It is amazing how doing something as simple as "Run Rabbit Run" induces some of the loudest screaming and laughter that I ever heard, and funny how all of the kids stand up pointing and screaming at the rabbit moving fro one side to the other.

Which of course I never see, so they get louder and louder and louder, until the magical conclusion. Then they scream even louder and erupt with laughter as the rabbit hangs from my back. So in the end it is all more about performance, patter, presentation, and showmanship, than the technical difficulty of a prop. It is your job to bring them to life and make them entertaining.

Tommy James's comedy wands (funny bunny wand, comedy Christmas wand, measles wand) are great for "magician failing type tricks." Silly Billy's Peek-a-Boo Bunny, Chance Wolf's Mr. Marvello, and the Axtell magic drawing board are great for "Look Don't See" type of tricks that the younger kids seem to adore.