Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them / Quidditch Through the Ages [Box set] [Hardcover]

J.K. Rowling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001 | Age Range: 9 and up | Series: Harry Potter

When first released to Muggles in March 2001, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages further enlightened Harry Potter fans about the dangers and delights of the wizarding world. Now these two charming works of non-fiction are available in hardcover -- in a special keepsake slipcase edition!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Now, the classic books from the library of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry--Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages--are available in hardcover in a sturdy boxed gift set. (These books are written by J.K. Rowling herself under the pseudonyms Newt Scamander and Kennilworthy Whisp.) Finally, Muggles will have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats, and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl. The Quidditch textbook explains where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence, and why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their clothes. Both books, designed to look like Harry Potter's actual, used Hogwarts textbooks, feature silly scribblings from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Proceeds from the sale of this gift set will go to improving and saving the lives of children around the world. Harry Potter fans, rejoice! (All ages)

From the Publisher

Scholastic Inc.'s net proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Harry's Books fund established by Comic Relief U.K. to help disadvantaged children in the poorest countries of the world. J.K. Rowling is donating all royalties to which she would be entitled. The purchase of this book is not tax deductible. Comic Relief may be contacted at: Comic Relief, 5th Floor, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP, England. Comic Relief in the United Kingdom is not affiliated with the organization of the same name in the United States. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043932162X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439321624
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (576 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone" was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and was published as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998.The second title in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in America) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists.The fourth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. The fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series - 766 pages - and broke the records set by "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" as the fastest selling book in history. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales.The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA and sales have contributed to breaking the 375 million copies mark worldwide.J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through The Ages" were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Harry Potter books have sold 400 million copies worldwide. They are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 languages.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#64 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#13 in Books > Teens

#62 in Books

#13 in Books > Teens

#62 in Books

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

329 of 346 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get your Harry fix and support a great cause! November 24, 2001

By John DiBello

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›

188 of 196 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, funny, and completely integrated with the novels March 13, 2001

By Joseph L. Shipman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A part of Harry Potter we didn't know. March 23, 2001

By Callie

Format:Paperback

No Harry Potter fan can be without these little books. Both of the books are modeled after the textbooks mentioned in the series and are written by the great authors Kennilworthy Whisp and Next Salamander(but with the help of JK Rowling). They also have a foreward by Dumbledore, in which Dumbledore explains that the purpose of releasing the books for muggles is to raise money for charity. Any muggle will have fun reading all of the many sections of these books about Quidditch and magical beasts. The Fantastic Beasts book, which I have read the most, is is a very good branch of Rowling's imagination. It talks about many different creatures, both dangerous and peaceful. Harry and Ron have written many notes in the book, some relating to the Chudley Cannons, some about Hagrid's love of monsters, and many about what they learned from facing monsters(they can confirm that there are giant spiders in Scotland). The other book is taken from the Hogwarts library, and we can tell that all of the Quidditch players have used this book often. It describes the history of Quidditch, the rules, the ancient forms of Quidditch, and the popularity of the game. It's pretty amazing what one can learn from these books. We learn that dodos aren't really extinct, but are magical birds that disappear from muggle sight. We learn that fairies lay eggs and grow in cocoons. We learn that America, Quodpot is more popular than Quidditch. We also learn the ten most common fouls of the seven hundred fouls that exist. We can even learn how many dollars Galleons are equivilent to. These books help us learn a part of the Harry Potter books we didn't know. Anyone impatient for the next book in the series will find relief here. I can assure you will love laughing at the cute humor.... I hope for more text books in the future! Read more ›

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get your Harry fix and support a great cause! March 13, 2001

By John DiBello

Format:Paperback

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. Read more ›