Kids' Letters to Harry Potter From Around The World [Paperback]

Bill Adler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the opening of Kids' Letters to Harry Potter from Around the World, editor Bill Adler says, "Kids from all over the world sent us letters. Some came via e-mail, some by conventional mail. Some were collected by teachers and librarians and sent to us in a bundle." Adler does not explain how the letters were solicited or whether Potter author J.K. Rowling ever saw this "unauthorized collection." Interviews with the children break the monotony, but the absence of any organizing principle makes this book a thick read.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-The letters in this compilation were collected by Adler with the help of booksellers around the world. The authors hail from New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and the U.S., among other places. Some write about their own lives and hometowns, while others imagine wizard existences for themselves and write to Harry Potter as peers. Their excitement for and love of the novels are apparent. Many of the letters are accompanied by follow-up interviews with the youngsters, and here is where the collection runs into problems. The interviews are so similar that they quickly become monotonous, and the answers to the interview questions often repeat what the letters say. In addition, the black-and-white illustrations are somewhat bizarre animation drawings and, after the first two or three, have nothing to do with any character in the series. Most fans would probably prefer that libraries save their money and buy extra copies of volume five when it comes out. Sharon Moore's We Love Harry Potter! (St. Martin's, 2001), which includes recipes, games, and letters, offers more variety and fun.

Timothy Capehart, Dayton & Montgomery County Public Library, Dayton, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (September 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710586
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710584
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,679,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Kids' Letters to Harry Potter, January 6, 2009

By	Runa Zaman "HPLunatic" (Charlottesville, VA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kids' Letters to Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Collection (Hardcover)

Kids' Letters to Harry Potter was another one of those books that had a lot of potential but flopped when it came to delivery. Some of the letters were cute, but for the most part, it was a bunch of older kids almost roleplaying their ways into Harry Potter's world, pretending they had magical powers and owls of their own. I read this book thinking it would be similar to Children's Letters to God, in which younger children wrote very abstract letters "to God". There were some where children brought real world elements into Harry Potter (mostly along the lines of "can you use magic to do my homework/clean my room?"), but again, mostly flat and repetitive. I feel like these are letters that should have been sent to Jo Rowling herself as opposed to being published, so she could see how much of an impact they had on kids' lives. The pictures were really corny as well, and had nothing to do with Harry Potter itself. The few positive things I have to say are about the relatability of the book. Earlier, I'd posted about Harry, A History, which I mentioned showed only the lives of the Big Name Fans. Here, we do actually see how the Harry Potter books impacted regular children around the world.

Rating: 2/5

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a whole differnet world, August 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Kids' Letters to Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Collection (Hardcover)

harry potter has enchanted millions of readers from around the world and pulled the the children away from their television and showed them that reading is fun. read this if you want to see how far a child's imagination can carry him.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Great, June 29, 2001

By	Jill (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kids' Letters to Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Collection (Hardcover)

It's great that people are finally listening to the kids point of views. Its the kids who made this series popular in the first place and then it spread to the parents and to other adults. Without these loyal fans, this series would not have been so popular and its about time that they get some credit for it.