And it's not even a one trick thing - far from it

She could come up with many ways to reveal the card;
I did when I was a child

The problem I have found with teaching card tricks to kids is that their hands are just too small. Gemini Twins would be hard: they have to fan through the cards at the start and they simply can't.

A simple key card location can work, but I'd say that five years old is too young, usually.

Another vote for one way deck effects. Good idea, guys!

This is a fascinating discussion. There have been some interesting and thought-provoking suggestions.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone here actually taught one of these tricks to a five year old? Has the five year old performed the trick for a group of adults? Were they AMAZED?

(I think RamiK is on the right track, but what do I know?)

I have not, but my youngest daughter turns five in April. I'll see if she's interested. My nine year old learned Gemini Twins when she was eight, but the only adults she dd it for were family, so I can't trust their reactions.

Where can this be found, please? I am a fan of Bob Longe's but cannot place this trick.

I very much doubt whether card magic is the way to gowith a five year old. Hands too small, probably don't play cards much anyway, not a particularly logical or ordered mind for remembering instructions or giving instructions to adults. Maybe a kids magic set with self-working gimmick tricks is best. Cards are probably best left until they're older - say eight or so.

I have it in his Giant Book, but that's a compilation of smaller books. I'll look at at it when I get home and tell you the smaller book it's from.

Thanks for all the awesome thought filled responses.

Hushai, it's in World's Best Card Tricks, and, like I said earlier, Giant Book of Card Tricks.

I learned the "tell me where to stop" card trick (not sure what the correct name for it is) when I was around 5. I still do it til this day with amazing reactions! So simple, instantly repeatable, and makes you look like you have mad skills.

Slip Force? If so, that's the first thing I learned too

Slip Force? If so, that's the first thing I learned too
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That's it! I know a lot, but am terrible at the names of just about everything. I still get awesome reactions with it.

The problem with the slip force is most people think their slip force looks like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdHYxJ6eRZc

No, wait; that's terrible. Maybe more like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcYaKu9hoF8

No, that's even worse. Perhaps this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nduo7pM9vk

OK, that wouldn't fool a one-eyed squirrel.

Maybe, it looks like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwOiRCeBcPs

I wonder what the move looks like when a five year old does it...

Thank you for the links. Very eye opening. Youtube can be a remarkably helpful place for magicians to see others work and be a platform to share performances and thoughts with others. I stress it CAN BE. May these videos serve as a warning.

To the OP, a self-working four ace assembly ( the one with four piles and finishes with an ace on top of each pile, sorry name escapes me) would be a good trick.

BarryFernelius, LOL, those were great.

For a similar situation in the past, though the child was not quite as young, I suggested they use a one way force deck. From what I heard it went over quite well.

The advantage is that they can't easily make a mistake (other than flashing the faces of the cards I suppose). However, one caveat if constructing an easy effect with it is that the trick shouldn't look *too* good, since then it will be obvious that a gimmicked deck is being used.

One idea - maybe use it for doing a tossed out deck. There are many possibilities.

Let me be clear. I have no problem whatsoever with five year olds performing magic for immediate family members. Even if the kids are not very good (and honestly, that's almost always the case), it's appropriate and expected that family members will applaud them, support them, and encourage them.

The situation described by the original poster is different. He said, "I am looking for something that I could have her do mostly by herself that would WOW adults." That's a different matter entirely. It's not fair to the five year old, and it creates a rather uncomfortable situation for the adults. What if the five year old absolutely messes everything up? Won't that be a tough situation for the kid? Think about all the different things that could happen.

So, in this case, my question is simple: WHY?

I can't come up with a scenario in which this makes any sense.

Here's another idea:

Card Magic Trick for Kids: Simple Monte 2
http://magic.about.com/od/Card-Magic-Tri......te-2.htm

BarryFernelius, it is totally innocent, really. I was merely planning to put her out on the street performing during the day and make our money back on her.