Skip to main content

Review: The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac

Written by J.K. Rowling
Illustrated by Peter Goes, Louise Lockhart, Weitong Mai, Olia Muza, Pham Quang Phuc, Levi Pinfold, and Tomislav Tomić.
New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2023. Fiction. 197 pages. 

Published as the official magical companion to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, this latest addition to the wizarding world canon is chock-full of quotes, facts, timelines, character profiles, maps, and more. The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac makes it feel like there is no Harry Potter question that can't be answered. Not only does it cover specific topics like the properties of famous wands, magical communication, and the history of the sorting hat --but whole spreads are given over to various locations within Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, the Burrow, and St. Mungo's Hospital, just to name a few. The attention to historical and factual detail will appeal to even the most dedicated of Potterheads, but it is the intricate color saturated illustrations and multiple double-page foldouts that really make this book a standout! The eye will find something new every time (which will be many) one peruses this book, and it is sure to bring continual delight. A must-read for those who love the Boy Who Lived, The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac will also appeal to the more casual fan. A new classic reference book!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...