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Summary: Exciting!!
Review: I think this is an excellent way to keep everyone still reading about Harry Potter while we wait for the 5th book. I especially enjoyed the little doodles and scribbles in "Fantastic Beasts...".
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Summary: Harry Potter Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: WOW! Oh my god! This book was amazing! I loved it! It is a great thing to read while waiting for The 5'th book. Wow! If you are a Harry Potter fanatic, You NEED these books. It will keep you sane while waiting for the 5'th book!!!!!!!
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Summary: J.K. Rowling does it again
Review: After reading these books, I am more than ever convinced that J.K. Rowling is brilliant and that the Harry Potter universe is an instant children's classic. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages are modeled as real textbooks in every way, from the bar code on the back listing the price as "14 Sickles 3 Knuts" to the delightful introduction by Albus Dumbledore to the fanciful "About the Author" sections ("Newton Artemis Fido Scamander was born in 1897..."). "Fanciful Beasts" even contains notes purportedly scribbled in the margins by Harry, Ron and Hermione. Both books contain scores of details, some of them extrapolated from the earlier books and some completely new and interesting. Plus, they make the Harry universe seem even more real. If you needed any other excuse to buy them, how's this: All proceeds from the sale of the books go to charity. A must-read for Harry fans of all ages, and for non-Harry fans, a concise and engaging introduction. Brilliant!
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Summary: Biding away the time...
Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a cute book that every serious Harry Potter fan will want. It isn't all that great a read but it does have some interesting information about the creatures we have encountered in the Harry series. I was sort of disappointed in the little handwritten comments that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were supposed to have written in the book. It is difficult to tell who had written which comment. All in all, I wish that Rowling would have spent the time working on Book 5 but I'm glad that the proceeds from this book will be going to a good cause.
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Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable, but a bit brief.
Review: I immediately purchased Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts the moment they came out. The purchase was ostensibly for my children though oddly enough I'm the only one in the family to have touched them so far. Quidditch is the more enjoyable read, with interesting historical details and a more compelling story to tell. There are enough references to events mentioned in the Series books to make the work fit seamlessly into the larger Harry Potter framework. Fantastic Beasts is dryer (of course, it is attempting to replicate a textbook) and not something that lends itself to a cover to cover perusal. It is most enjoyable when, in the introductory material, Rowling makes oblique reference to a particular unknown animal that begs you to turn to the a-z listing in the back and figure out to what she is referring. The descriptions of the animals introduced in the other books adds little to what we already know. In both cases, I rather wish that there was more material. The occasionally ludicrous vingettes from the wizarding past or present are endearing and I wish there were more. Since I have to wait until 2002 for the next book I was hoping for something a little more meaty to tide me over until then. I still recommend these books highly as they help to fill out our understanding of the world Rowling has created for us to enjoy.
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Summary: Wonderful for any potter-obsessed person (adults, especially
Review: I cannot see these as children's books. They're really for the adult who is preoccupied by the world of Harry Potter and all the minutia therein. And any American fan of soccer will love the bits in Quidditch about the shocking lack of obsession with the game in the States...
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Summary: Delightful Books For A Good Cause
Review: These charming books allow us poor Muggles to enter, however briefly, into Harry Potter's world. The books are well-written and delightful, with some wonderful touches (Harry's class notes are scribbled in the Fantastic Beasts book, for example). That all the money raised on these books will go to the charity Comic Relief UK makes them all the more remarkable. Please buy these books. As Albus Dumbledore tells us in the introduction to Quidditch Through The Ages, "By buying this book . . . you too will be contributing to this magical mission." And how else do you get to help children around the world by reading?
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Summary: Get a Harry Potter fix to tide you over...
Review: I couldn't wait to start the two newest additions to the Harry Potter legacy. And J.K. Rowling does not disappoint with these two novels. Although they are slim, both "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages" are wonderful reads. Intended for the reader who is already familiar with the world of Harry Potter, these two books build upon the details Rowling has already given us about Harry's magical world in the previous four novels. "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them" is a basic encyclopedia of the 75 species that have been identified by the magical world. As this book is in its 52nd edition, the possibility for a new edition is likely. Besides the given descriptions of some previously unknown magical creatures as well as creatures we have already been introduced to, the author has devised a system that ranks the perceived "dangerousness" of the beasts. The five levels of danger range from "boring" to "known wizard killer/impossible to train or domesticate (or, as Harry notes, 'anything Hagrid likes)." Part of the charm of "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them" are the margin notes we see throughout the book that are from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. This is also a good introduction to some of the creatures our hero may face in coming books. "Quidditch Through the Ages" goes beyond the basic introduction the sport of choice among wizards. As the title says, this book looks at the beginnings of this sport adn takes us up to the present. The author does a good job of tracing the history of quidditch, including details about the evolution of the balls used, the rules, and the roles of the players. A thorough look at some of the top teams for each continent is also included in this book. However, one of the most enjoyable sections of the book would have to be the forward by Albus Dumbledore. He discusses in great detail the difficulty he encountered in making this book available to muggles. It seems that the school librarian did not want to part with it. In fact, he warns, the school librarian often puts hexes on the library books to protect them and it is possible that he did not remove all of them. As a librarian myself, I found this to be VERY funny!!! For fans of the Harry Potter series, I would definitely recommend picking these two books up. Not only are they enjoyable and full of details of Harry's world, but they are a good way to tide yourself over until the next book is published. Highly recommended.
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Summary: A little snackie while we wait for the meal
Review: I am so atwitter with anticipation for Book 5 that when I heard Ms. Rowling was writing these two magical textbooks, I thought, "Oh no! Precious writing moments are being wasted! We will have to wait EVEN LONGER - how will we ever bear it!" But these two Hogwarts standbys are almost worth the time taken away from The Order of the Phoenix. They are hilarious, not gimmicky at all, and of course, all the profits for them go to the wonderful organization Comic Relief UK. Don't you want to know how to get rid of your garden gnomes? (The Weasleys use the humane method - there's another, more effective.) Aren't you burning to read about the first ever Quidditch games? And can you live one more moment without checking out Harry and Ron's notes to each other? I didn't think so.
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Summary: JK Rowling does it again...
Review: Though these books are quite different from the Harry Potter Series books, they still live up to Rowling's reputation. The books are very humorous and will keep you entertained. Great job Rowling, and I can't wait until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out!
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