Book Reviews: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them & Quidditch Through the Ages

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and J. K. Rowling

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Synopsis: Fantastic Beasts & Where to find them is written as if it was Harry Potter’s school book. It talks, as the name says, about the different beasts that exist in the magical world of J.K. Rowling.

 

Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp and J. K. Rowling

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Synopsis: Quidditch Through the Ages describes the Wizarding game of Quidditch.

My Thoughts: These are Harry Potter books that I rarely read but always make me laugh when I do. They were perfect for the charity they were written for: Comic Relief, because they offer just that, some comic relief. I read them during what was a very tough summer workwise (psychological warfare was mentioned several times) and for the two or so hours it took me to read they helped keep that at bay.

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them is written as Harry’s school book and has humoristic comments in the margin, like many school books do (I teach high school, I see many comments in the margin). The book itself is funny at times but it is really the comments that are the highlight of the book.

Quidditch Through the Ages is less funny (although I giggle at times) but it does provide an insight into the wizarding game that one does not get from the “regular” Potter books. It also clearly shows that Rowling had thought through her universe very thoroughly.

These books are not necessary to understand the Potterverse but they certainly add a bit of flavour to them, and while us Potterphiles sit around waiting for our Pottermore e-mails these books can provide a nice fix.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.