Don't believe them, Harry Potter isn't the best!
Written: Feb 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gets kids thinking and writing about Harry Potter.
Cons: A fair amount of repetition.
The Bottom Line: Might be a good classroom resource, or an interesting book if you're desperately waiting for the next Harry Potter book.
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| Jellyn's Full Review: Harry Potter, You're the Best! |
What do you get when you ask children to write about Harry Potter?
Free content for your book, Harry Potter, You're the Best!.
This is a sequel of sorts to We Love Harry Potter! We'll Tell You Why. It's a compilation of letters and drawings from kids all over the world who love the Harry Potter books.
The writers range in age from about 7 to 15, with most in the middle. While there are letters from around the world, they are all English speakers and the majority are from the US, followed by the UK and Canada. There's also a section with a few letters from adults.
The letters say things like 'Hermione is my favorite character' or 'I love Everyflavor beans'. Once you've read fifty of these, your eyes start to glaze over.
Making it a little easier to digest, the letters are categorized into chapters. For example, 'Our Most and Least Favorite Characters', 'Opinions on Future Books', and 'Recipes for Wizard Food'. Some of the letters fit several categories, so which chapter they're in is really arbitrary.
There's artwork from the kids, but particular bits of artwork are reused and that's disappointing. In addition to the recipes kids have provided, there's a section on poetry, ideas for playing your own version of Quidditch, a word scramble, and a crossword. It closes with short descriptions of myths and legends. Finally, there's a bibliography of books kids might want to read.
I'm kind of torn when thinking about the star rating to give this book. On the one hand, it didn't quite hold my interest throughout. And I really do wonder at the motivations behind this book. It seems like a cheap way to capitalize on the Harry Potter phenomenon.
On the other hand, I can see it being a good resource for teachers and librarians. Kids can see what others all over the world think about Harry Potter, and be encouraged to write about it themselves. Many of the letters were actually addressed to J. K. Rowling or to characters in the books. So maybe it's a good way to get kids thinking more deeply about the books and writing as well as reading.
I'm going with a middle-of-the-road 3 stars.
Finally, the editor of the book sometimes answers questions the kids have posed, or responds to the letters. Usually this isn't much of a problem and I tend to agree, but here's one example where I wondered what the heck the editor was thinking.
"Why is the scar in the shape of a lightning bolt?"
"Note: The lightning bolt shape of Harry's scar is a symbol of the powerful shock of the spell Voldemort used to try to kill Harry when he was a baby, according to J. K. Rowling's books."
Now, I've read the books several times, and I never formed that conclusion. Does it make sense to you?
Details
$6.99 for this 156-page paperback.
For more Harry Potter-related reviews, visit my profile.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Jellyn
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Location: New Hampshire
Reviews written: 210
Trusted by: 47 members
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