Early On The Books Were Extremely Controversial And In Many Ways They Still Are
Part of what made Harry Potter such a literary phenomenon is that so many kids were reading the books despite an unprecedented number of attempts to get them to stop reading the books.
The Harry Potter series, like many works of fantasy, involves wizardry and witchcraft. The feeling that the books thus promoted the occult proved to be the basis for constant challenges to the series presence in school libraries and bookstores by concerned conservative parents. The books first topped the American Library Associations list of the most banned books of the year in 1999, and remained in the top spot for most of the next decade.
In some regions, pressure to censor the series was so high it led to lawsuits: In 2003, a judge ordered an Arkansas school district that had removed the books from schools due to promotion of the religion of witchcraft to return them. Similar formal attempts at removal persisted into the latter half of the decade, and the books continue to rile up conservative religious leaders who warn of its demonic influence.
All of this controversy speaks not only to concerns that Rowlings work would negatively influence children, but to the reality that many of those children grew up to be arguably even more progressive than the books they grew up reading which is, in a way, a confirmation of conservatives worst fears about the series.
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Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection
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The Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection
The three hocruxes.
- “Limited and Numbered”
- The statement of the Wizard’s Collection
The Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection box set is the biggest Harry Potter collection in history. It contains 31 discs, one of the horcruxes, a map of Hogwarts and its surroundings, and much, much more.
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Books Like Harry Potter To Binge On Your Next Vacation
Love Harry Potter? Your next great vacation read is right here.
Its been nearly 25 years since the first Harry Potter book was published, but J.K. Rowlings series remains as popular as ever with kids and adults who cant get enough of the Wizarding World. Filled with unforgettable characters, fascinating creatures, and maddening mysteries, the Harry Potter books have made an enduring mark on fantasy literaturenot to mention leaving millions of readers looking for more books like Harry Potter to read next.
At its heart, the Harry Potter series is a coming-of-age tale that grows along with its young readers. In the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Harry and his friends are 11 years old. Its a great introduction to fantasy books for kids who are roughly the same age. By the last book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, our favorite characters are all on the cusp of adulthood. The content is darker, written at a higher level, and perfect for readers whove grown up with the Harry Potter series.
What To Read After Harry Potter
But like all good things, these magical books eventually come to an end. Fortunately for young readers and adults alike, there are lots of great options for what to read after Harry Potter that will give you a similar thrill as J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series and its companion Harry Potter Wizarding World theme park. Heres a comprehensive list of the best books like Harry Potter for every grade level, continuously updated as new fantasy books make their debuts.
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Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
Harry and his friends return to Hogwarts with a bang in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the bang of a soaring Ford Anglia crashing into the Whomping Willow, that is.
Since being discovered by Muggles and barely escaping deportation, youd imagine the remainder of Harrys second year would be a breeze.
As with the previous novels in the book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets sparked theological debates some religious figures criticized the use of magical themes, whilst others lauded its focus on self-sacrifice and how ones character is the product of ones decisions.
The novels film adaptation, which was released in 2002, became the fifth highest-grossing film of all time and received overwhelmingly positive reviews.
A number of video games based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were also launched for various platforms, with the majority receiving positive feedback.
In addition to ensuring that Harrys personality is formed by his actions rather than any part of his birth, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets introduces opposing characters who attempt to hide their true personalities: Gilderoy Lockhart, as Tammy Nezol puts it, lacks any actual identity because he is nothing more than a charming liar.
A Deadly Education By Naomi Novik
Sixteen-year-old Galadriel El Higgins is a half-British, half-Indian sorceress at the Scholomance, a school where students learn magic. But unlike Hogwarts, there are no teachers. The students are responsible for educating themselves, and at the end they either graduateor die.
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novak is a good choice for older teens and adults looking for books similar to Harry Potter, especially if the magical boarding school element is one of your favorite parts of the Potter books. The first book in the series is A Deadly Education. The second book, The Last Graduate, will be published on September 28, 2021.
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The Witches Of Willow Cove By Josh Roberts
In The Witches of Willow Cove, seventh grader Abby Shepherd and five other girls from a small New England town discover they not only have magical powers, but also share a secret connection to the Salem Witch Trials. Then a mysterious stranger named Miss Winters arrives and offers to teach them everything she knows about witchcraft. Theres only one problem: Abbys best friend suspects Miss Winters is responsible for the disappearance of his mother years beforeand she might have something equally wicked planned for Abby and her new coven.
The first in a magical new series, The Witches of Willow Cove earned starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal and was named a book of the year by A Mighty Girl, which calls it atmospheric, just-spooky-enough, and magical. Tweens ands teens will love this page-turner filled with magic, mayhem, and humor, and the compelling mystery at the heart of the story appeals to adults as well.
We were looking for something new after we finished all the Harry Potter books and I came across this, says one review on Amazon. Its a little bit like Harry Potter meets The Craft. It takes place in modern day United States, so you dont get that British boarding school vibe, but like the Harry Potter books its sort of a mystery disguised as a fantasy, and is also very much a story about friendship. It has a playful sense of humor, but can also put you on the edge of your seat.
Fablehaven By Brandon Mull
If youre looking for books similar to Harry Potter that you can read aloud to your kids, look no further than Fablehaven. Smart dialogue and a unique take on a familiar fantasy story make this five-book series a must-read for Potter fans. When 13-year-old Kendra Sorenson and her 11-year-old brother Seth are sent to stay with their grandfather, they soon discover he is the caretaker of a refuge for mystical creatures like trolls and fairies. Naturally things go wrong, and Kendra must step in to save her family.
Great for young readers and old teens alike, one reviewer on Amazon calls this series perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, while another praises the complex characters whose personalities cause many of the issues that they then need to resolve.
The five books in the series are Fablehaven, Rise of the Evening Star, Grip of the Shadow Plague, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, and Keys to the Demon Prison.
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A Discovery Of Witches By Deborah Harkness
People magazine calls the All Souls series by Deborah Harkness a wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight. That makes it the perfect choice for what to read after Harry Potter, especially if youre a fan of witches and vampires.
In the first book, A Discovery of Witches, Oxford scholar and witch-descendant Diana Bishop finds an enchanted alchemical manuscript that unleashes evil on the world. Along with her vampire boyfriend, Diana must hold the evil at bay. The All Souls series continues with Shadow of Night, The Book of Life, and Times Convert. The books have also been adapted as a television series.
Three Dark Crowns By Kendare Blake
In this dark fantasy series, three sisters must fight to the death to become the queen of the island of Fennbirm. Triplets, each of the sisters possess a particular kind of magic they use against each other in a battle that begins when they turn 16.
Blake establishes myriad side plots and relationships, builds complex characters, and leaves plenty of compelling avenues to explore in future books, writes Publishers Weekly. Teens from eighth grade and up are the right audience, but adults will like the hypnotic story, too.
The four-book series consists of Three Dark Crowns, One Dark Throne, Two Dark Reigns, and Five Dark Fates.
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald The Original Screenplay
The cover was planned to match the theme of the second film, with the Eiffel Tower portraying the films main location, Paris.
In line with the first films continuation, a Niffler and Bowtruckle emerge.
The Deathly Hallows symbol represents Gellert Grindelwald, and the significance of a locket with the letters NF, a piece of jewelry, and a skull is unknown.
The initials NF could stand for Nicolas Flamel. In the end, theres even what seems to be Grindelwalds skull-hookah.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the ultimate compendium to the supernatural beasts that inhabit the wizarding universe, as detailed by J.K. Rowling, who writes as renowned Magizoologist Newt Scamander.
Youll see some familiar characters, such as the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, and the Hungarian Horntail, but youll also see a slew of new ones.
This is the text that influenced the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film trilogy, so if you want to catch up on the source material, this is the place to start.
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City Of Ghosts By Victoria Schwab
A spine-tingling page-turner, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab is perfect for middle-school readers who love a great ghost story. After 12-year-old Cassidy Blake, a self-proclaimed Gryffindor, nearly drowns, she gains the ability to see beyond the Veil and visit the spirit world. Casss best friend Jacob is a ghost. And her parents are the ghost-hunting stars of a reality TV show. Things get even weirder when her family travels to hauntingly perfect Scotland and Cass meets a girl who shares her strange abilities.
Critics and readers love this series, which so far consists of City of Ghosts, Tunnel of Bones , and Bridge of Souls . Kirkus says the books beg to be read in the dark of night and reviewers on Amazon call it brilliant and fast paced, funny, a little scary, and sweet.
His Dark Materials By Phillip Pullman
This acclaimed trilogy, consisting of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, follows Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, two pre-teens from different realities who embark on a perilous journey, meet armored bears and fallen angels, and cross through haunted worlds. The Washington Post has called His Dark Materialsthe best juvenile fantasy of the past 20 years. Phillip Pullmans original trilogy is written for grade level five and up. A second trilogy called The Book of Dust is set in the same world and is intended for a teen audience. It begins with La Belle Sauvage and continues with The Secret Commonwealth. The title of the final book in the trilogy has not been announced.
Meet Tomi Adeyemi the new J.K. Rowling. .
Entertainment Weekly
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The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern
A magical love story, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is one of those books like Harry Potter that will keep readers guessing to the very end. At the Le Cirque des Rêves, a circus that only performs at night, a duel between two magicians is underway. Only one magician will be left standing. Trouble is, the two magicians are in love.
As soon as I finished The Night Circus, two things happened: first, it shot to the top of my favorites list, and second, I simply had to reread it. I couldnt let the world go so quickly, writes one Amazon reviewer.
An added connection to the Wizarding World: Like the Harry Potter books, the audiobook edition of The Night Circus is read by the excellent Jim Dale, whose voice work on the seven Harry Potter novels is equally magical.
Hogwarts Moment: Divination Class
Set 76396
Price: US$29.99, £24.99, 29.99, CA$39.99, AU$49.99, NZ$54.99, DKK 269.95
Divination was one of Harrys least favourite subjects, but the setting is perfect for a Harry Potter set with the colourful classroom and rather unique teacher.
The set includes Professor Trelawny as well as Harry Potter, who didnt like the classes at all, and Parvati Patil, who on the other side loved divination.
To help the students foresee the future, a crystal ball is included, along with a printed tile about the Grim for the divination textbook that comes with the set.
It is better seen on the photo below. So now you can recreate the tea-leaves reading session, where Trelawney saw the Grim a well-known omen of death in Harry Potters tea cup.
Here you can see the class-room folded out. I think the colours are great, but maybe they have overdone the teacups.
As with the other Hogwarts Moment sets, you can fold up the set into a book for storage.
Product information:
LEGO® Harry Potter Hogwarts Moment: Divination Class is an instant playset inside a brick-built playbook packed with popular characters and familiar features from Professor Trelawneys Divination classroom, for ages 8+.
Enchanting gifts for kidsIf youre looking for a truly magical treat, LEGO Harry Potter playsets offer a range of captivating gifts that will delight any young witch or wizard.
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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
Harry returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year following an eventful Quidditch World Cup with Hermione and the Weasley family.
Its sure to be a thrilling one, as Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, in which students from three major wizarding academies will participate.
However, only students aged seventeen and up are fit for the tournament, so Harry is safe for the time being or so he hopes, before the ritual Goblet of Fire chooses him as the fourth Triwizard Champion for no discernible cause.
Bloomsbury published the book in the United Kingdom, and Scholastic published it in the United States.
The release date in both countries was July 8, 2000. This was the first time a book in the series was released simultaneously in both countries.
In 2001, the book was the first Harry Potter novel to win a Hugo Award, making it the first Harry Potter novel to do so.
The book was adapted into a film, which was released worldwide on November 18, 2005, and an Electronic Arts video game.
Inspiration And Mother’s Death
Rowling worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary in London for , then moved with her boyfriend to Manchester where she worked at the Chamber of Commerce. In 1990, she was on a four-hour delayed train trip from Manchester to London when the idea “came fully formed” into her mind for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry. When she reached her flat, she began to write immediately.
In December 1990, Rowling’s mother Anne died after suffering from for ten years. Rowling was writing Harry Potter at the time and had never told her mother about it. Her mother’s death heavily affected Rowling’s writing, and she channelled her own feelings of loss by writing about Harry’s grief in greater detail in the first book.
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‘seven Books Can Only Do So Much’
Some research, however, has questioned the impact Harry Potter has had on shaping a wider appreciation for reading.
For instance, research by the National Endowment for the Arts in the US has found no increase in children’s reading levels in correlation to Harry Potter which Ms Shemroske says is unsurprising.
“Seven books, no matter how inspiring, can only do so much to compete with everything else demanding the attention of children and teens,” she says.
“I think it’s important to focus on those who are impacted by Harry Potter those who are forever changed, influenced, and inspired.
“As long as books have that kind of power, I think there’s hope for readers, writers, and increasing reading levels, too.”
Ms Shemroske’s own research has looked into the changing page length of Booklist-reviewed novels for children aged eight to 12, between 1976 and 2016.
She says among children who do read there is a distinct trend towards longer books, and she believes Harry Potter may have played a role in that.
“The results, a 37 per cent increase in page lengths between 1996 and 2006, and a 115 per cent increase between 2006 and 2016, led us to believe that Harry Potter with its own hefty page counts could be partially responsible for the bigger books we are seeing more and more of,” she says.
Although Ms Shemroske admits her research is “in no way comprehensive”, it is a train of thought echoed by other experts.