jkr books - reviews

[Tandy, Heidi]

No: HPFGUIDX 1498

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http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6623-2000Sep14.html

On the Potter Bandwagon


So, you've finally read all 734 pages of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire." Now what? Publishers have plenty of suggestions. Several books about
Harry Potter and his creator, J.K. Rowling, have appeared in bookstores.
They range from transparent attempts to make money off Pottermania to smart
examinations of Rowling's work--so be sure to shop critically.



"We Love Harry Potter!"

By Sharon Moore (1999, St. Martin's Griffin, $5.99)

Disclaimer on the cover: "This book has not been authorized or endorsed by
J.K. Rowling or the publishers of the Harry Potter books."

You could buy this book--or you could just talk to your friends. Almost all
of "We Love Harry Potter!" is direct quotations from kids about the books.
Comments such as "I wish I could go to wizard school, too" don't exactly
make for, um, spellbinding reading. 

The rest of the book is a hodgepodge of word games, praise for the books
from parents and teachers, and dorky conversations with kids about how they
tr!
ied to make butterbeer at home or play Quidditch in the back yard. Although
this book is for and largely by kids, the author's generalizations about
young people are patronizing: "Owls are creatures that fascinate children."
Yuck. This book is unlikely to fascinate children.



"J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter"

By Marc Shapiro (2000, St. Martin's Griffin, $4.99)

Disclaimer on the cover: "An unauthorized biography."

An unauthorized biography means it was written without the help or
permission of the person it's about. If you've read many magazine or
newspaper stories about Rowling, you've pretty much already read this book;
that's where the information in it came from. 

This kind of biography is sometimes called "fictionalized." That means the
author imagines things he hasn't actually seen, as in this description of
Rowling at work: "A smile crosses her face. Her already expressive eyes,
framed by long wavy hair, grow even wider. Her pen slashes across the pape!
r like a lightning bolt." 

This author tries to buddy up with young readers by repeatedly claiming that
"we" do this or that. "We all fantasize about being able to fly and lift
buildings off the ground," for example. Which is one of the reasons "we" can
do without this book.



"Exploring Harry Potter"

By Elizabeth D. Schafer (2000, Beacham Publishing, $24.95)

Disclaimer on the cover: "Not approved by J.K. Rowling."

This book isn't about the phenomenon of Pottermania or about J.K. Rowling
herself, although it includes sections on both topics. Instead, it's about
the Harry Potter books themselves. 

If you like books and think you might want to study them one day, this is a
good introduction to the way teachers and critics think and talk about
literature. (Does the Chamber of Secrets represent a womb?) It's also filled
with interesting background information, like the fact that Nicholas Flamel,
a name from the Potter books, was a real person (a 14th-century alchemist).

The!
 book has chapters about a wide range of things, from the history of
witchcraft to the geography of the British Isles, as well as lists of
characters and chapter-by-chapter summaries of the books followed by
school-style questions such as "Why is the wizard candy significant?" 

Even if you don't answer them, you can't help learning something from this
book.

For more on Harry Potter, including stories and quizzes KidsPost has
published in the past, visit our Web site: www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost.


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