Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by New Scamander (J.K. Rowling)

My son Daniel received Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them for Easter and we had a grand time reading it together.  He enjoyed the movie over the winter, but he really liked this textbook by Newt Scamander on the fantastic beasts that he had found over the world.

The book starts with a great introduction defining what a beast is and how they are classified.  It also talked about how Muggles interact with the magical world of beasts.  One of Daniel’s favorite items was a list of the Ministry of Magic Classifications of the beasts going from “X - Boring to “XXXXX – Known Wizard Killer / Impossible to Train or Domesticate.”  The book lists all beasts alphabetically with a brief description of what they are and how they are classified.  He bookmarked the classification scheme so he could quickly flip back and take a look at it with each beast.

Daniel’s favorite beast was the Hodag.  In particular it was his favorite because “It is now confined, mostly successfully, to a protected area around Wisconsin.”  We had to look it up outside of the book and read how the legend persists in the Wisconsin north woods.  Daniel was convinced then that J.K. Rowling has visited Wisconsin and he thought that was very awesome.

Overall, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a quick enjoyable book.  Even young 9-year old Daniel was impressed that proceeds all go to charity.  He loved the format and learning more about the creatures in the Harry Potter series and the Fantastic Beasts movie.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

My eight-year old son Daniel is on a Harry Potter kick and got The Tales of Beedle the Bard from his book order.  I had never read it before.   I love the Harry Potter series but I never read any of the other side books J.K. Rowling wrote for charity.  

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is introduced as a collection of stories written for young wizards and witches, think the wizarding version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  This collection has a note on each story and its significance at the end by Professor Dumbledore.  One bad thing in the collection is that Daniel is on book five (and looks like he is stopping for now as he said the books are getting a little beyond him for reading, maybe next year he’ll finish up) and didn’t know what the future had in store for Professor Dumbledore, but the introduction of this book lets you know.  Beware!

There are five tales in this collection and I found them all to be delightful and Daniel enjoyed them too.  I love fairy tales and I loved that these stories seemed like an old tale that you had discovered that had been written for the magical community.  I just wish there were more in the collection!

Overall, this is a good addition to the world of Harry Potter and something that any lover of fairy tales would love.  Just beware that the introduction includes information that will spoiler the young reader if they haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series yet.

Book Source:  Purchased from the Scholastic Book Order

Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp (AKA JK Rowling)

My eight year old son Daniel is on a Harry Potter kick and has discovered the companion novels that JK Rowling wrote for charity.  While I was a giant Harry Potter fan and read the entire series as they came out, I never read these companion novels so it is fun for me read them now with Daniel.

Quidditch Through the Ages is a tongue in check book that is the history of Quidditch from its invention, changes through the years, and the way it is played in different countries throughout the world.  I love how it makes fun of American football by having Americans play a form of Quidditch that isn’t quite the same.  Overall, the way the book was written reminded me of the Disney Goofy sports short movies.

Daniel enjoyed the book and learning more about the game and I found it humorous myself.  Daniel really liked that the book said it was the property of Hogwarts Library.  It had an old fashioned signature checkout in the beginning that Daniel really liked to look over and talk about. Overall, this is a cute companion to the Harry Potter books.

Book Source:  Daniel got this from the Scholastic Book Order

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Throne

“Do you know there is a new Harry Potter book out?”  I have been asked this countless times over the past couple of months.  I did know there was a new Harry Potter tale out, but I knew it was a play that was opening in London and the script was being published as a hardcover – not as a narrative book.  I also know that J.K. Rowling said that the Harry Potter series stopped by book seven and I felt unwilling to move on from what had been promised.  Then I kept hearing snippets of all sorts of intriguing things happening in the Harry Potter world and I could not resist anymore and ordered the book.

I first fell in love with Harry Potter in my undergraduate years at Michigan Tech in the late 1990’s.  The first two books had been published and I heard great things about them.  I received them for a Christmas present and soon found myself engrossed in the tale.  Friends would laugh to find me in cubbyholes between engineering classes reading furiously.  I preordered each of the following novels and loved the entire series.  Was I ready to see what happened to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger 19 years later?  Yes.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child starts off right where book seven ended – with Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione dropping their kids off to take the Hogwarts Express to school.  Harry’s middle son, Albus, worries that he will be sorted into Syltherin and his worst fear is realized.  He also befriends Draco Malfoy’s young son, Scorpius.  Harry and Albus struggle with their father and son relationship, especially when Harry tries to ban the friendship between Albus and Scorpius.  Albus feels adrift and decides to correct what he feels was his father’s greatest error by stealing a Time-Tuner with Scorpius and a new friend, Delphi.  They travel back to the Triwizard Tournament that was held in Book 4:  The Goblet of Fire.  Things don’t go exactly as planned and time goes amuck.  I thought of this as Back to the Future 2 after Biff goes back in time and screws up the future.  Will Albus and Scorpius be able to remain friends?  Will time go back to what it was or will dark forces be unleased?

I really enjoyed this play, and it really made me want to see it on the stage.  I hope it comes to the United States one day and/or gets turned into a fantastic movie.  It was a very engaging story.  I missed the great detail that is found in a Rowling novel and wished that she could turn this story into a full-fledged novel.  As it was a play, it was a very quick read.  This was welcome as my oldest son (10-year old Kile) started the Harry Potter series at the end of July and just finished book six today.  I realized I better get this review up as he will be reading this play before I know it!

My favorite quotes:

“Meet the once-great Harry Potter, now a stone-cold Ministry man.  I will leave you in peace, sir.  If peace is the right word for it.” – Mr. Diggory

“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing and should therefore be treated with great caution.  Dumbledore.” – Harry Potter

“I don’t care what you did or who you saved, but you are a constant curse on my family, Harry Potter.” – Draco Malfoy

Do you enjoy reading plays?  What is the play you’ve enjoyed the most?

Are you a fan of Harry Potter?  Have you read The Cursed Child?  If so, what did you think?

Overall, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a great story.  I would have loved the detail that a novel would have contained, but the storyline was intriguing. I also loved the growth and different three dimensional view the storyline gave many of the characters, in particular, Draco Malfoy.

Book Source:  Amazon.com