Harry Potter Illustrated Editions By Jk Rowling And Jim Kay
These deluxe hardcover editions of the Harry Potter books feature glorious full-color illustrations by artist Jim Kay, breathing new life into the imaginative world created by J.K. Rowling. The first four illustrated Harry Potter books have been completed. The remaining novels in the series will follow. A fully illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is also available.
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.
A Note On Controversy
Like so many of the best things in this world, there is controversy surrounding a few aspects of the Harry Potter series. When the books were first released, the biggest controversy revolved around the elements of fantasy and witchcraft in Harry Potter. Of course, the witchcraft is no secret- Harry Potter is a wizard, after all. And in the early books, the majority of the magic is innocent and fairly vague.
The later books in the series admittedly are a bit darker and tend to handle more discussion of dark arts, especially when talking about Voldemorts acts, and the acts of his followers. There is discussion of murder as well. So, for several reasons, Harry Potter is listed as a banned book by many schools and organizations.
But this definitely doesnt mean that it is inappropriate for all children, and ultimately the decision to allow your children to read the books lies with you and your comfort level surrounding topics of magic, witchcraft, and later, concepts of good vs. evil and morality.
More recent controversy surrounding the series has revolved less around the content and characters of the books, but rather on the personal views and biases of series author J.K. Rowling.
In response to a recent series of social media posts by the author, she has been labeled a TERF due to mocking comments she made regarding trans-positive language and transgender rights.
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The Books Of Elsewhere By Jacqueline West
Eleven-year-old Olive Dunwoody knows theres something strange about her new house the moment her family moves into the creepy old mansion on Linden Street. When she discovers three talking cats and a pair of eyeglasses that transport her into the homes unusual paintings, she knows the house is truly magical. But is she prepared for how dangerous it will become?
The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West follows Olive as she discovers that her homes previous owners were witchesand they may not be quite finished with it just yet. Perfect for older elementary school kids and younger middle schoolers, Publishers Weekly says the series offers a suspenseful plot and insight into childhood loneliness.
The five-book series begins with The Shadows and is followed by Spellbound, The Second Spy, The Strangers, and Still Life.
When Is Your Kid Ready For Harry Potter A Guide For Getting Started
Youre a wizard, Harry. As a bibliophile and a parent, youre so eager for the day your kid is ready to read those words and enter the wizarding world of Harry Potter. But along with fanciful components like letter-delivering owls, chocolate frogs, a hidden train platform, and an enchanted Sorting Hat, come darker elements, like an orphaned and neglected child, beloved characters deaths, soul-sucking Dementors, and the innate evil of Voldemort.
So at what age is a kid ready to read the Harry Potterseries? Like most milestones, there is no right age. It all depends on the kidand the parents. But there are a few age-related guidelines to take into consideration: From a technical standpoint, Harry Potter is categorized as a middle-grade read, which typically encompasses 9to12-year-olds. That said, Harry is 11 years old in the first book in the series and 17 by the final book, and kids generally like to read about protagonists in their age range or a couple of years older. Additionally, not only does Harry get older and the content get darker as the books progress, but the books themselves get longer, which is typically indicated for older readers.
Think it might be time for your kiddo to embark on this journey? Check out some of our tips belowalong with some words of wisdom from J.K. Rowlings magical charactersfor getting started.
Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, youll be just fine. Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
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The Pandava Series By Roshani Chokshi
Aru Shah, the 12-year-old heroine of the Pandava series, likes to make up stories to fit in at school. But when her classmates catch her in a lie about a cursed lamp, Aru inadvertently unleashes an ancient demon whose goal is wake the God of Destruction. With her mother and classmates now frozen in time, Aru Shah must journey through the Kingdom of Death in order to find the reincarnated heroes of the epic Hindu poem the Mahabharata.
The first novel in the series, Aru Shah and the End of Time, was named one of the best fantasy novels of all time by Time magazine. Aru Shah and the End of Time and its three sequels are written for a preteen audience reading at an elementary school grade level.
Hogwarts: An Incomplete And Unreliable Guide
Sourced from the short reads on Pottermore.com and gathered into one book for easy reading, Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guidegives you all of the background information that you might want to know about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly. Ever been curious about what the Hufflepuff common room looks like ? Did you ever wonder about the origins of Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters? Here’s the book that will provide all of the answers.
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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.
Storm Runner By Jc Cervantes
Based on Mayan mythology, the Storm Runner trilogy features Zane, a young boy with a physical disability that not only makes it difficult to walk but also challenging to navigate bullying from his peers in middle school. Zane likes exploring the dormant volcano near his home in New Mexico with his dog Rosie, but little does he know the volcano is a gateway to another world. Zane finds himself in the middle of a powerful prophecy that will transport him far away from the life hes always known. Cervantes writing is funny and her characters are likable, says a reader on Amazon. This is a great read for students who like action and adventure. And Kirkus Reviews notes, Zanes incredibly appealing kid voice and wry internal interjections make him easy to root for.
The first book in the series is The Storm Runner, followed by The Fire Keeper and The Shadow Crosser.
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Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and friends return to Hogwarts with a bang the bang of a flying Ford Anglia as it crashes into the Whomping Willow, that is. After being spotted by Muggles and narrowly avoiding expulsion, youd think that the rest of Harrys second year would be smooth sailing in comparison right?
Wrong. When the school caretakers cat is found petrified along with a bone-chilling message that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, fear and suspicions start to arise and of course, only worsen when students start getting petrified too. Nobody can figure out who the culprit is, only that he refers to himself as the Heir and seems to be on the warpath.
But as our young heroes know well by now, if you want a mystery solved right, you have to do it yourself. Which they do through a combination of Polyjuice potion brewing, mysterious flashbacks provided by a sentient journal, and a truly horrific excursion to see a giant spider called Aragog. The book culminates in a visit to the titular chamber, which lies underneath Hogwarts and contains yet another deadly threat that Harry must face.
But of course, this being an early Potter book, its not all din and danger. Comic relief comes in the form of moronic, egocentric professor Gilderoy Lockhart, and toilet ghost Moaning Myrtle who, in true Rowling fashion, ends up being key to the central plot twist of the story.
Rickman Was The Only Person Who Knew The Full Picture When It Came To Snape
In a conversation between Oldman and Radcliffe, the two discussed how Sirius is at first painted as this “villainous guy” but turns out to be “kind and warm.”
“I wish Id had the whole picture,” Oldman said of the series. “You know, we found out book by book.”
He then turned to Radcliffe and said, “I dont know whether you were, because you were Harry Potter,” implying that Radcliffe might have had a better grasp of what Harry Potter’s future held given that he was the franchise lead.
However, Radcliffe said, “I did not. Just Rickman did,” referring to the late actor, who died in 2016. “That was it. He had the inside line.”
“How did he work that one?” Oldman replied.
“He very very early said to Jo , he was like, I think I need to know what happens,” Radcliffe said.
“Rickman would have an in, wouldnt he,” Oldman joked.
“He never told Chris, he never told anyone,” Radcliffe added. “Chris would literally say to him why are you doing that and he would say Ill tell you later.”
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Lockwood & Co By Jonathan Stroud
Ghosts have taken over England, but only young people can see and eradicate them in Jonathan Strouds five-book Lockwood and Co. series. Narrated by 15-year-old Lucy Carlyle, these action-packed books have all the humor and heart of the Harry Potter series, and a good deal of the mystery and suspense as well.
Older middle school kids and young adults love Lockwood and Co., as do many adult readers. I had no clue this wasnt an adult series, but I was hooked and didnt care, writes on reviewer on Amazon. And like Harry Potter, this series is no less delightful just because it was written with a younger reader in mind, raves another reader.
In order, the five books of the Lockwood and Co. series are The Screaming Staircase, The Whispering Skull, The Hollow Boy, The Creeping Shadow, and The Empty Grave. Stroud has also written a short story in the Lockwood and Co. series, The Dagger in the Desk, which is available for free on Kindle.
When Harry Met David
Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Potter films, couldn’t find anyone to play Harry Potter until he watched a BBC miniseries of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. The young actor playing David was 10-year-old Daniel Radcliffe in his acting debut.
It wasn’t an easy road to hire him, though, as his parents didn’t want young Dan to commit to a seven-film series, especially since at the time it was thought the films would be made in America. But as we all know, Radcliffe signed on, and the rest is magical history.
“I was a really happy kid who had a really haunted quality,” Radcliffe says with a laugh.
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The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins
The one-sentence pitch: If you want to be drawn completely into another world like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games is for you.
What is it about? Set in dystopian North America, Katniss Everdeen decides to take her sister’s place in the 74th annual Hunger Games a televised tournament which requires its “tributes” to fight to the death. These children are chosen by lottery from 12 poor Districts surrounding the wealthy Capitol to reinforce its power and authority. But when Katniss enters the arena, things start to change.
How many books? Three, but there’s also a prequel thrown in there for superfans.
Who is it for? Teens, young adults, anyone who loves dystopian YA Fiction.
Why it’s worth reading? I’m big on character-driven stories, and this has that in spades. It will have you choosing sides and latching onto favourites in exactly the same way the Harry Potter series does, and you will not be able to put it down. The way these books are written and the characters that emerge is captivating.
What kind of Potter fan are you? I grew up as a Hufflepuff in a house full of Gryffindors, but I named my cat Cedric Diggory after the most legendary Hufflepuff to exist and never looked back.
Recommended by Kathryn Perrott
The one-sentence pitch: The Secret of Platform 13 was published three years before the first Harry Potter book and also involves a platform at London’s King’s Cross station that opens for a limited time to transport characters to a magical place.
Are There Any Parent Reviews For Harry Potter
I am one of the rare parents who allow my 4 and 6 year old kids to watch this and the first Harry Potter movies. The movies after these too are just WAY too intense for my kids and won’t allow them to watch them until they are MUCH older. Socerer’s Stone is one of the two I don’t mind … This review… This review… This review…
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One Of The Biggest Sources Of Harry Potter Opposition Came From Focus On The Family
Im among the millennials who grew up notreading J.K. Rowlings novels or watching the films for religious reasons. While writing this article, Ive had hundreds of conversations through social media and in person with adults across the country who had the same experience.
For many of us, reading the novels wasnt outright forbidden, at least not through some kind of household decree it was just understood that it wasnt something we did in our homes. For others, the opposition was much more overt. Some people spoke to me about bringing home the novels and having them taken away. Others felt ashamed about times when their parents told their teachers that they wouldnt be allowed to read the books along with the rest of the class.
Harry Potter
The variety of these experiences helps illuminate the complexity of opposition to Harry Potters world something thats been bolstered as Ive talked to parents who once opposed the books and have changed their views, and others who still prefer not to let their children read them.
To those who grew up with the books, that may seem slightlybaffling. The stories of Hogwarts and the young wizards seem of a piece, in many ways, with the battles of good and evil contained in other classic works of fantasy, including some explicitly Christian-influenced ones such as C.S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. So what accounts for this opposition?
Harry PotterHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
So What Happened To Those Who Didnt Read Harry Potter
Ive been reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone for the first time while working on this article. I know how the story goes, because by the time the movie series was reaching its conclusion, I was an adult and a working film critic, and I watched them all.
But Id never gotten around to the books, so now Ive read the first in the series. News flash: Its pretty delightful. I was surprised by the wit and by the clever characterizations, and I like the careful attention given to building out the world of both Muggles and wizards. I wouldnt say Im very invested in it, but its fun.
Would I have liked them if Id read them when they first came out? Probably. In 1998 I was 15, a hopeless bookworm who didnt watch many movies or TV shows but did read books like This Present Darkness. I had read and reread the Narnia series since I was in third or fourth grade, and I loved the movie versions that sometimes aired on PBS. I wasnt into fantasy all that much, but Harrys world feels enough like my own that I would have enjoyed them. And as a conservative Christian teenager, I probably would have found a lot to praise in them just like many others did.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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