For Libraries
I grew up
in a library.
My mom was an elementary school librarian. Before I was even in school, I spent my days surrounded by books. Magic books, biographies of magicians, adventure stories — anything I could get my hands on. Library shows are not a service line on a brochure for me. They're the room I came from.
Book me for the Comedy Magic Show, for Comedy Balloon Twisting, or both. Tailored to your reading theme, your audience, your room.
150+ libraries in New York. The room knows me.
The sentence that turned me into a storyteller.
One day, while in my mom's library, I said I was bored. She gave me the sideways look that only librarians can do, stacked on top of the sideways look that only mothers can do. She was both. The effect compounded. Then she said this:
"There are over 22,000 books in this library. Every single one is an adventure waiting for YOU to open it. How could YOU be bored?"
That sentence has been with me since I was 6 years old. It's in my show. It's on this website. I started doing magic four years later — and that sentence is still the best trick I know. A librarian is the reason I'm any good at any of this. It's not a book — it's an adventure. That's the line I've spent my career trying to land with kids.
Library Show Formats
Each show is built fresh for your room, your audience, and your reading goals.
Reading Is a Magical Adventure
The flagship library program. A 45–50 minute all-ages show where Mr. Twisty shares his stories of growing up in a library — and how he learned to discover an adventure inside every book he opened. Comedy, magic, Penny in the spotlight, plus a tour of Twisty Town: Adventures in Storytelling, his free K–5 storytelling website. Special theming or summer-reading customization is welcome and easy to accommodate.
Summer Reading Theme
Whatever your Collaborative Summer Library Program theme is for the year, I tailor the show to it — same comedy, same magic, same Penny, same energy, just bent toward your kickoff or capstone event. Tell me your theme and I'll build the bits.
Just for Fun
Sometimes a library doesn't need a theme. Sometimes a library just needs a great show on a Wednesday. I bring the whole act — comedy magic, balloon twisting, Penny — and the room takes care of itself.
Twisty Town Demo Visit
For libraries that want to wire TwistyTown.com into their summer or year-round programming. The show kicks off the platform; I walk kids through the zones live; teachers and librarians get a free playground they can keep using all year. More about Twisty Town →
What you get from booking me.
A 45–50 minute show calibrated to your library, your audience, and your theme. Fully insured. W-9 ready. References from libraries across the Capital District and the broader Northeast. I show up early, I run on a small footprint, I leave the room better than I found it. 10,000++ shows in. 150+ libraries served in New York alone. No drama.
Year-round programming pairs naturally with Twisty Town — my free K–5 storytelling playground that any patron, parent, or teacher can use to keep the magic going after the show ends. No accounts. No ads. No purchase. Just adventures in storytelling.
What Libraries Say
"Our students with reading challenges finally felt excited about books. Mr. Twisty made reading feel like something they wanted to do."
School Librarian
"The energy was infectious, and our students talked about the assembly for months. When we introduced Twisty Town the next day, they were already invested."
Elementary School Principal
"After the show, our reluctant readers were the first ones asking to go to the library. The excitement carried into the classroom for weeks."
Library Media Specialist
Every library is different. Every quote is custom.
Library budgets vary — system contracts, summer reading grants, friends-of-the-library fundraising, the whole stack. Tell me what kind of show you want and what you've got to work with. I'll come back with a quote that respects both.
I'm not the cheapest library act in the Northeast, by choice. I'm a fully-insured pro — clean magician for 47 years, Mr. Twisty since 1997. NY libraries: ask about BOCES funding — many patrons save 60–80% on assembly programs through it. I'm a registered BOCES Cooperative Artist and can walk you through how it works.
Reach Out However Works For You
Form, phone, text, or email — I get back within 24 hours. W-9 and COI ready on request.
Read what libraries say on Google Reviews →