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Former NFL player presents books to Cook Primary students

Malcolm Mitchell, an author of children’s books and former NFL player from Atlanta, presented books to students at Cook Primary School on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Mitchell, executive director of Share the Magic Foundation, wrote the book he presented at CPS. He read along with the students from the book.

Last week, Mitchell, accompanied by John Duke Logan, a magician from Boston, Mass., embarked on a Reading Rally Tour across South Georgia. They visited CPS, reaching 933 students; Berrien Elementary, 670 students; Lanier County Elementary, 400 students; and Pinevale Elementary.

Every student on the tour went home with their very own copy of The Magician’s Hat or My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World.

“Thanks to these schools for partnering with us to spread literacy and fun to the young minds of South Georgia!” Mitchell said. 

During the event at CPS, Mitchell spoke to the students and told them he played football at Valdosta High School, and when he was their age, he loved football more than anything.

However, he said he learned that to be successful, and the best person ever, he had to learn to read. He told the kids growing up, he was afraid of books and he thought reading was the “toughest thing to do,” but he learned he had to overcome that fear.

Mitchell then introduced John Logan. The magician performed for the students with a lot of energy.

After Logan’s performance, Mitchell read the book interactively along with the students, by getting them involved. After he read the book, he asked questions about what they learned from it.

As the founder of Share the Magic Foundation, Malcolm Jarod Mitchell currently serves as Chief Executive Officer, focusing on the foundation’s overall growth, development and impact. 

Mitchell, 29, grew up in Valdosta, Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia (UGA), where he obtained a Communications degree.

He played college football at UGA. Mitchell was drafted by the New England Patriots as a wide receiver during the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He became a Super Bowl Champion in February 2017. His NFL career lasted only two years due to knee injuries. 

Among Mitchell’s numerous awards and accomplishments both on and off the field, he considers discovering a love of reading his greatest achievement. Through literacy, he is now an author of children’s books.

Mitchell was not a strong reader when he began college, then reading only at a middle school level, but grew to love reading; even joining a women’s reading club and promoting literacy among youth. He says he is more proud of his reading accomplishments than of making (and later winning) the Super Bowl.

In 2016, Mitchell released his first book, The Magician’s Hat. This children’s picture book features David, the Magician, who loves to perform magic. David knows the magical power of books, which can explore dreams and develop creativity.

After Mitchell ended his career in the NFL in 2019, he started reading to children with children’s books, which include some of his own.

John Logan is Share the Magic Foundation’s magician. A career magician, Logan was featured on “America’s Got Talent,” and has authored two books, The Perfect Illusion: Life and The Magic Behind Success. He consulted on a national Toyota commercial.

Logan is best known for being the Team Magician for the New England Patriots. Many people “credit” him as one of the reasons for the Patriots’ legendary victory during Super Bowl 51.

The same year the New England Patriots hired a Team Magician whose phrase is “Impossible is Just a Word,” they ended up achieving the greatest comeback of all time. Coincidence or magic?

You may recognize Logan’s name from the news, where he captured national headlines when Tom Brady talked about him during a press conference.

For more information about Malcolm Mitchell and Share the Magic Foundation, you may go the foundation’s Facebook page or visit the website www.readwithmalcolm.com.

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