Guide to the Harry Potter Novels (Contemporary Classics In Childrens Literature) [Paperback]

Julia Eccleshare (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0826453171 | ISBN-13: 978-0826453174 | Publication Date: April 22, 2002

JK Rowling now is half-way through a series which has taken the world by storm. Unusually, she has attracted success both in terms of massive sales figures and critical acclaim. This study will look at her books and consider some of the reasons for their phenomenal success. This will be done against a background of how Harry Potter relates to other contemporary childrenÆs books so that students and teachers can place them in the context for which they were written.This book has not been authorized by JK Rowling, her agent, or Warner Bros.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a thoughtful introduction to the phenomenon that began in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"
—Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Winter 02-03

'Eccleshare addresses pertinent race and gender issues, examines Rowling's handling of education and the family, and touches on some broad social implications of current widespread enthusiasm for Harry Potter.'

(Modern Literature )

"Overall, this useful text serves its purpose by providing a launching point for parents and high school teachers. It may even serve some use as supplementary reading for Children's or Young Adult literature courses focused on the Potter books."- Brent Stypczynski, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Summer 2006, 17.2

(International Association for the Fantastic Arts )

"Without pretension, she reminds us of how useful it is to stand back from the razzmatazz of book reading and selling and library works and the rest, to take stock of what makes Harry Potter books tick... Eccleshare opens up a number of critical ideas that are always worth asking... She combines "conventionality with traditionalism" and so makes a suitable case for treatment by Olympian critics keen to detect sources, devise theories and distrust commercialism. I hope Eccleshare rewrites the book now that the Harry Potter series is complete." Stuart Hannabuss, LR 57,8

“Overall, this useful text serves its purpose by providing a launching point for parents and high school teachers. It may even serve some use as supplementary reading for Children’s or Young Adult literature courses focused on the Potter books.”- Brent Stypczynski, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Summer 2006, 17.2

(, )

About the Author

Julia Eccleshare is children's books editor of the Guardian (one of the UK's top broadsheets). She has written on children's books for 25 years and regularly appears on BBC programmes and in "The Bookseller". One of her reviews provided blurb for the first paperback edition of "Harry Potter".

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (April 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826453171
• ISBN-13: 978-0826453174
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,980,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Quick route to know what is up with Harry, June 14, 2003

By 

W. Jamison "William S. Jamison" (Eagle River, Ak United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guide to the Harry Potter Novels (Contemporary Classics In Childrens Literature) (Paperback)

If you have read the books this book is a waste of time. It mostly sums up the plot and characters and so forth. If you have not read the books and do not have time to have any fun -- since reading the books is lots of fun -- then this is a quick way to find out what is going on.