Magic and dinos in the library
Jungle Jim climbing into the balloon to show the kids the dinosaur. Photos by Kat Sheridan
Jungle Jim showing the kids the dinosaur. 
Joel, age 7, makes his favorite dinosaur sound. 
Arlo and Riley show off the dino they pulled from the bag. 
Grace, 7, Arlo and Riley participate in a magic act. Arlo accidentally pulled a chicken out of the bag, not a dino. 
Ivy laughs at Jungle Jim after performing a magic trick. 
Lincoln, age 6, 'breaks' the magic wand. 
Charlie (5,) Eliza (7,) Bennett (8) and another child reel in an octopus.
Jungle Jim climbing into the balloon to show the kids the dinosaur. Photos by Kat Sheridan
Jungle Jim showing the kids the dinosaur.
Joel, age 7, makes his favorite dinosaur sound.
Arlo and Riley show off the dino they pulled from the bag.
Grace, 7, Arlo and Riley participate in a magic act. Arlo accidentally pulled a chicken out of the bag, not a dino.
Ivy laughs at Jungle Jim after performing a magic trick.
Lincoln, age 6, 'breaks' the magic wand.
Charlie (5,) Eliza (7,) Bennett (8) and another child reel in an octopus.
A prehistoric octopus and a dinosaur invaded both Dartmouth libraries on Tuesday, July 22, but it was just Jungle Jim with balloons and magic tricks for the kids.
Jim Manning, known across the country as “Jungle Jim” visits libraries to show kids why they should enjoy the library.
“When they come to see a magic show here at the library, they start to identify the library as a fun place to go,” he said. “It’s not just books, it’s resources, it’s libraries who know amazing things.”
He added,“I like to think that my show contributes a little bit to encouraging kids to read.”
This was the fourth time that Jungle Jim visited Dartmouth.
“We brought him back because we know that families and kids in this area love Jungle Jim,” said Library Director Dina St. Pierre.
During the show, Jungle Jim used balloons and magic to entertain the kids. He started by creating a balloon animal octopus, which Charlie, Eliza, Bennett and one other child reeled in with a balloon fishing pole.
“I really liked [the show,]” said Eliza. Her brother Johnny agreed, saying the show was “good.”
Jungle Jim then started with the magic show, where Lincoln, age 6, ‘broke’ the magic wand. Ivy then used a giant balloon wand to color in a coloring book with the colors from the children’s shirts.
Grace, age 7, with Riley and Arlo, helped Jungle Jim try and pull a dinosaur out of a bag. First came the chicken, then an elephant then a skunk before finally pulling out a dinosaur.
After trying, and ‘failing,’ to transform a plain white balloon, he cut some holes in it and magically turned it into a flower.
Jungle Jim ended the show by promising a dinosaur out of a six foot egg, which was him in a mask in a large balloon. However, before he could get the act finished, the balloon popped. This far from ruined the show for the kids, as multiple kids said this was their favorite part.
“My favorite part was when the egg popped,” said Eliza.
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