Rating: 
Summary: Clever, funny, and completely integrated with the novels
Review: J.K. Rowling has given us facsimile editions of two of Harry Potter's schoolbooks, all proceeds going to children's charities around the world. The books are only 64 pages each, but the print is very small and they are crammed with remarkably interesting information that fills out the background of Harry Potter's world. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself provides introductions to these special editions."Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", by "Newt Scamander", describes all the magical creatures we have seen in the first four books of the series, plus many more. Harry's marginal notes (along with Ron Weasley's, since Ron's own copy apparently fell apart) remind us of many of his adventures. "Quidditch Through the Ages", by "Kennilworthy Whisp" shows how this magical sport (along with similar ones) has evolved, and also provides a history of magic broom technology with a good deal of supplementary material shedding light on wizard-Muggle relations throughout history. Both books provide many hints towards a better understanding of what's really going on in the "backstory" in the Harry Potter books. They may not suffice to keep Potter fans totally satisfied until the next book comes out, but they'll surely create a big demand for other "supplementary" materials.
Rating:
Summary: Get your Harry fix and support a great cause!
Review: Although the wait for 2002 and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is going to be a hard one for a lot of people, these two brief but fun books should fill the gap admirably as well as supporting a great cause. Released for the first time (well, to the general Muggle public), here's two of Harry Potter's schoolbooks, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages." Slim and quick reads, these books nevertheless are a great deal of fun. "Quidditch" provides us with a brief evolution and history of everyone's favorite broomstick-riding sport, with rules of play, focuses on top world teams, and the revelation that Americans don't really play Quidditch on the world-class level, preferring an American variation called "Quodpot." "Fantastic Beasts" is a brisk and humorous guide to mythical, er, totally real monsters and magical creatures from the Acromantula (giant spider) to the Yeti. This book is Harry Potter's own personal copy, and is enlivened with Harry and Ron's writing and jokes in the margins of the book. Both books feature a wonderfully dry-humored introduction by Albus Dumbledore. Both books are written with a friendly and light sense of humor that's delightful to read and makes great background for the serious Harry Potter fan. Quidditch team Chudley Cannons' motto is said to have been changed from "We shall conquer" to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best." The most important reason to buy these books, however, is to support Comic Relief UK, the British relief organization set up to help children in the disadvantaged countries of the world. Although we can't save the world from manticores or score the winning goal in a Quidditch World Cup match, we can still be heroes by supporting this great cause.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for any HP fan!
Review: If you consider yourself a fan of Harry Potter, you must get these two books! As it was JK Rowling herself who wrote these, they include a much needed background into the various beings and characters that exist in her books. Not only that, but all the proceeds go to charity, so buy these two now!!!
Rating:
Summary: Get your Harry fix and support a great cause!
Review: Although the wait for 2002 and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is going to be a hard one for a lot of people, these two brief but fun books should fill the gap admirably as well as supporting a great cause. Released for the first time (well, to the general Muggle public), here's two of Harry Potter's schoolbooks, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages." Slim and quick reads, these books nevertheless are a great deal of fun. "Quidditch" provides us with a brief evolution and history of everyone's favorite broomstick-riding sport, with rules of play, focuses on top world teams, and the revelation that Americans don't really play Quidditch on the world-class level, preferring an American variation called "Quodpot." "Fantastic Beasts" is a brisk and humorous guide to mythical, er, totally real monsters and magical creatures from the Acromantula (giant spider) to the Yeti. This book is Harry Potter's own personal copy, and is enlivened with Harry and Ron's writing and jokes in the margins of the book. Both books feature a wonderfully dry-humored introduction by Albus Dumbledore. Both books are written with a friendly and light sense of humor that's delightful to read and makes great background for the serious Harry Potter fan. Quidditch team Chudley Cannons' motto is said to have been changed from "We shall conquer" to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best." The most important reason to buy these books, however, is to support Comic Relief UK, the British relief organization set up to help children in the disadvantaged countries of the world. Although we can't save the world from manticores or score the winning goal in a Quidditch World Cup match, we can still be heroes by supporting this great cause.
Rating:
Summary: To Help you Wait
Review: These two books are great to help you wait for the next installment of the Harry Potter series. Two of Harry's schoolbooks, complete with margin notes by both Harry and Ron. Quiddich Through the Ages is a great book that provides us Muggles with even more info on the popular wizzard sport. There is a great history of the sport and shows how the sport evolved through the years. Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them is another wonderful book. Muggles are allowed to learn about those creatures that are out there but are rarely seen. It give you great info on each of the creatures and how dangerous they are. This book also helps you know what the students of Hogwarts have to study. Both books also have an introduction by Dumbledore which also shed light for us muggles on the mystical world of the wizzards. Great for any Harry Potter fan who just can't wait for the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Careful, JK, you're going to give tie-ins a good name!
Review: I was kind of cynical when I bought these; I figured JK was trying to cash in on her success. But at least she's cashing in for charity, and I was desperate for *something* HP, so I bought it. The books, however, are totally awesome. Like Tolkien's "Silmarillion" on a much smaller and more whimsical scale, they provide glimpses into the larger imagined world in which HP is embedded. They do not merely parrot what we know from the books; there are tons of fun nuggets of information and mysterious hints. "Fantastic Beasts" gives us the 411 on our familiar friends the dragon, the acromantula and the flobberworm, as well as tons of new critters like the Lethifold. The margins have hilarious "comments" by Harry and Ron, slyly referencing the published HP novels. This is a must-have reference for fanfic writers in need of story ideas. "Quidditch Through the Ages" is a very cool look at the history of Quidditch, full of Rowling's usual lighthearted social satire (i.e. Americans neglect Quidditch in favor of their homegrown broom sports :) This book in particular gives us the feeling of having been ripped from a larger unwritten history of Harry's world. As far as I'm concerned, once she's done with books 6 and 7, Rowling can keep writing these nuggets for the rest of her life :) I would love to see her write "Hogwarts, A History" or "A History of Magic" by Bathilda Bagshot.
Rating: 
Summary: Great books to help you wait :)
Review: When waiting for the next Potter book, these are great books to read. Quidditch Through the Ages is insightful and interesting, while Fantastic Beasts is worth reading just for the comments! To find out more about the best wizarding game and about those strange creatures appearing in Hagrid's classes, read Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!
Rating:
Summary: Supplementary Harry Potter knowledge for a good cause
Review: In order to benefit starving children around the world, J.K. Rowling put out this two book set in a nice purple cardboard slipcase based on Hogwarts textbooks, twenty percent of the retail sales minus taxes going to that charity. They are meant to be as supplementary back stories to the Harry Potter mythos, and as it is sponsored by Comic Relief, there is some funny material in both books. Both books have material that correspond to the first four books. The first is Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander, which is one of the books all first year students needed. It's basically a small encyclopedia on those beasts, with M.O.M. (Ministry of Magic) classifications going from X (boring) to XXXXX (known wizard killer/impossible to train or domesticate), or, as a scribble next to it reads, "or anything Hagrid likes." And what is a beast defined as? The scribble in there reads "big hairy thing with too many legs." The scribbles in the book are what also enhance this book. The book has a label "property of Harry Potter" on it, but we discover that Ron Weasley has been borrowing his book because he's spending his money on dung bombs instead of a new book. For example, on the entry on Acromantula, giant eight-eyed spiders, there is a XXXXX rating, but several more X's have been scribbled, presumably by Mr. Weasley (q.v. Chamber of Secrets). There's a funny comment under Pixies (q.v. Chamber of Secrets). The entry in the Chimaera mentions a wizard who fell off his winged horse and died after slaying one. This is clearly a reference to Greek mythology's Bellorophon, who fell off Pegasus after being stung by a wasp. The second is Quidditch Through The Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, with a seal reading "Property of Hogwarts Library" which reads like a history book and goes first from the development of the broomstick as a form of transport to its use in sports. This takes the reader to brief descriptions of early broomstick games, and then to a certain game played at Queerditch Marsh in the 11th century. The evolution of the game is detailed, but the most fascinating part is the origins of the Golden Snitch, which itself has a sad but ultimately humane ending. However, I consider it a good move to have the blooders made of stone to Bludgers made out of iron. Both would still be very painful if one was smacked in the gourd by one. Other bits include major Quidditch teams, slang terms, broomstick models, and Quidditch moves (such as the Wronski feint, which Harry does in the first movie in order to reach the Snitch). However, the book has duplicated wear and tear, plus a list of pupils who've checked this book out, include Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Millicent Bulstrode, and the last two names, who are more than well known--a certain Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Those who are into HP will recognize the names I've listed. While made for the main target market for Harry Potter, adults who read the book will get a laugh out of the scribbles in the red Beasts book and an insight into the creative historical-minded side of J.K. Rowling, oops, I mean Kennilworthy Whisp. The books demonstrate an advanced knowledge in mythology, medieval history, and sports (love those Quidditch team names). Oh, and yes, as Ron Weasley says, dungbombs rule, especially if they're thrown at Draco Malfoy or Professor Snape, yes?
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter school books
Review: These are really cute little books they are very entertaining and a great read aloud. They are pretty short but they're worth what you pay. Quidditch Through the ages is a facinating little history of quidditch with many amazing (and amusing) facts about this favorite wizarding sport. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is a duplicate of Harry's copy which he shares with Ron because his fell apart so it has alot of amusing comments scrawled in through out the book, the book it's self is a guide the all the magical beast mentioned in Harry Potter plus a few more. These are both really fun and intresting and would make a great gift to any young (or probably old too) Harry Potter fan.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: These two books are so funny. I wish they would write more of them. I liked that they included little notes from Harry and Ron and even Hermione and it was great how they came up with so much to include in these books. No Harry Potter fan is complete without these books.
| 
