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In wizard news from last week, Scholastic released a new
Harry Potter cover
to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the publication of
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone. The designer is Kazu Kibuishi, and the covers will appear on the trade paperback version of the books. Hollywood.com
had an interview with Kibuishi, who is the author of the
Amulet YA graphic novel series.
What do you think of the new vision? Do you have a preference between the new and old?
Scholastic has unveiled the first of seven new covers for a set of U.S. trade paperback editions of J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series. The new editions will come out in September.
Amulet graphic novel artist Kazu Kibuishi created the covers. What do you think? Kibuishi explained his process in the release:
When I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn’t want to see them reinterpreted! However, I felt that if I were to handle the project, I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn’t, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle grade fiction. As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, ‘If I were the author of the books – and they were like my own children – how would I want them to be seen years from now?’
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
While the entire country tuned into the Super Bowl last night, a number of Harry Potter characters followed the action on Twitter.
We’ve embedded a complete collection of these Harry Potter-themed posts below. If you thought that the evil Lord Voldemort caused the power outage at the New Orleans football game or rooted for the Voldemort Raisins, you should read these tweets.
Harry Potter tweets still rule the Internet. Last February, the Professor Snape Twitter feed (a parody account dedicated to the famous Harry Potter character) published the most popular tweet of the Academy Awards.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Writing Prompt: You know you're a Harry Potter fan when. . .
We know who we are. Some people might call us obsessed. Some people might call us crazy. But when it comes to Harry Potter, there's nothing wrong with that!! How do you recognize other Potterheads? What are the signs of a TRUE Harry Potter fan?
Here are just a few symptoms of Harry Potter obsession. . .
- You know what house you’re in and you have a scarf with your house colors on it. (You’ve taken the sorting hat quizzes a million different times!)
- You’ve tried every flavor of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. Even earwax and vomit.
- You were a wizard for Halloween. 5 years in a row.
- When you check the mail, you look around for owls, desperately hoping for your Hogwarts letter.
- You started a Dumbledore's Army club at your school to fight real-world problems.
- You stand up and shout at the movie screen, “That’s not what happened in the book!”
- You've lost track of how many times you have read each book, but you know it's more than 10.
- You are seriously thinking about naming your future son Albus Severus.
- You have a birthday party for Harry every year on July 31.
- You screamed very loudly when you heard that J.K. Rowling might write another children's book.
Now it’s YOUR turn to complete this sentence in the Comments. You know you’re a Harry Potter fan when . . .
—Ratha, Stacks Writer
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You find yourself in front of seven identical doors. A voice from above tells you, "These seven doors lead to seven different places: Narnia, Neverland, Wonderland, Hogwarts, Camelot, Middle Earth, and Westeros." Which door do you go through? Why that door? What happens?
I would go through the door to Wonderland without hesitation. I have always loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and count it as one of my top ten books of all time. The character of Alice and I have a lot in common, beginning with our curiosity and continuing with our adoration of cats, a thirst for knowledge, and sheer determination. I would love to wander through Wonderland and interact with different characters from the books, especially the White Rabbit, the Gryphon, and the Cheshire Cat. I'd rescue the hedgehogs from the croquet games and delight in the chess game. Plus, I really love the hallway of doors in Wonderland. Read more at my blog, Bildungsroman. Which door would YOU choose?
From The Hobbit to Harry Potter, Hollywood loves dividing popular novels into two separate films.
With the second adaptation of Stephenie Meyer‘s Breaking Dawn coming to theaters this weekend, we caught up with screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg to find out what it was like to break the novel into two pieces.
She explained in an email interview: “There was a very natural place at which to break the two books. The second movie needed a little filling out, but the book itself offered many possibilities for that. Because the book is all told from Bella’s point of view, things sometimes happen off the page and are related by Bella after the fact — for instance, when Jacob tells her father she’s a werewolf. In the book, Bella finds out about this conversation after it happened, but in adapting the movie, I got to write the conversation itself.”
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Yes, yes, I know, plot is important too. But think about it, why are the popular books popular? Because the readers identify with the hero. Is the hero a vampire, hobbit, or alien? Could be. But that doesn't mean we can't identify.
No matter what world your story is set in, no matter what situation your character is in, it is the thoughts, feelings, and interactions with others that make the story worth investing time in. Take HP for example. Yes it would be awesome to discover we have wizard powers and can go to Hogwarts, but it's the relationships between Harry and the others that keep us reading. It's wanting to see this likable kid who's had a bad time of it come out on top.
Can we the readers identify with Harry? Of course! Are we wizards? Did we grow up in a broom cupboard under the stairs? Probably not, but we've sure been the odd man out at times. We know what it's like to be the underdog or feel inadequate or awkward, right?
When you write, you have to draw on those experiences and emotions you've experienced. Even if say, you're MC happens to be a leprechaun and is facing his worst fear - a wild unicorn, take that time you were five and the giant doberman next door got loose and ran right for you. Then just... extrapolate! That's why we're writers after all. ;D
What identifiable traits does your current MC have? Which MC have you fallen in love with and was it because you were ale to live vicariously and identify?
J.K. Rowling Webcast: Beyond the Page
Thursday, October 11, 2012. It's noon at the STACKS office. STACKS Staffer Karen is proudly wearing her Hufflepuff pin, and we have cupcakes — because this is a party! Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling will be speaking live from Scotland, and I am hoping, hoping, hoping that she will talk about what book she is writing next.
The webcast starts with a slideshow history of her beautiful city Edinburgh, Scotland. Did you know that Gilderoy Lockhart was named after a church in Edinburgh? There is also a St. Mungo’s Church in Edinburgh. Hmmmm. . . . That sounds familiar too.
Rowling says she always knew in her heart of hearts she would be a writer. She wrote her first story called “Rabbit” when she was 6 years old, which is impressive because she not only started it, but she finished it. She says, “Beginning a story is easy, but actually finishing it is more difficult.” She should know. It took her 17 years to finish the Harry Potter series!
She talks about some of her favorite moments while writing the Harry Potter books:
- Luna Lovegood’s first appearance
- The graveyard scene in Goblet of Fire
- Peeves’ jingles
- Harry’s first visit to Ollivander’s shop (which she wrote while sitting under a tree in a park)
Rowling also talks about Pottermore, the online world she created for the Harry Potter books. Rowling herself is actually a participant in Pottermore! She won’t reveal her username, so she could be anybody on the site! You might have even sent her a message! She was sorted into Gryffindor House. Of course, she wrote the Sorting Hat questions, so she could have put herself into any house she wanted, but she said she answered the questions honestly so she really is a Gryffindor.
The most controversial question came from a student who asked how Rowling responds to kids’ disappointment when they get sorted into Hufflepuff. (STACKS Staffer Karen puts her hands on her hips and gets very indignant at this question.) Well, it turns out that Hufflepuff is J.K. Rowling’s favorite house! Hufflepuff has produced the fewest number of dark wizards and they showed their loyalty during the Battle of Hogwarts in the number of students willing to stay and fight Voldemort. Rowling’s oldest daughter Jessica even said, “I think we should all want to be Hufflepuffs.” That made Karen really happy.
Next the interviewer did a bunch of rapid-fire questions.
- Favorite color: Pink
- Favorite food: Sushi
- Least favorite food: Tripe
- Favorite sound: The sea and “my husband’s snoring”
- Least favorite sound: “My husband’s snoring when I’m trying to sleep”
- Favorite sport: Quidditch
- Favorite things to do: Take the kids somewhere fun, draw, listen to music, cook, bake
- Quality You Most Admire: Bravery
- Fill in the blank: If I wasn’t a writer, I would be _depressed__.
Now we come to my 2nd favorite part of the interview when Rowling says that her next book will “likely be for children.” !! This is only my 2nd favorite part because she isn’t 100% sure yet and she doesn’t say anything about it being Harry Potter-related. Still, there is a chance that we may someday have another children’s book by the amazing J. K. Rowling! That is enough to get me excited.
My favorite part of the whole interview came at the end when Rowling talks about what she hopes kids take away from the Harry Potter books and why she loves books. She says, “What I take away from my favorite books is the knowledge that there is always somewhere you can go that you love and where you’re safe. . . . Wherever I am, if I’ve got that book with me, I’ve got a place I can go and be happy. If that place is Hogwarts for anyone, then I couldn’t be more honored or more humbled.”
I’m in awe. Hope you enjoyed my recap of the J.K. Rowling webcast. You can watch the entire video webcast for yourself, but give yourself a lot of time because it's 50 minutes long. Totally worth it though! Leave a Comment with your thoughts.
Author J.K. Rowling revealed that her next book would likely be for young readers, chatting with fans in a webcast hosted by Scholastic.
During the virtual event, which drew more than a million Harry Potter fans, Rowling discussed her next writing project. She said, “The next thing I publish is likely to be a book for children. The reason, I’m not committing myself wholeheartedly, is because after fifteen years of being a writer for Harry Potter, where you would say something and someone would cease on it and say, ‘You are definitely doing that now.’ And you kind of thought you weren’t allowed to change your mind. And it got a little intense, so I try not to commit myself with my plan. So I’m not 100 percent sure about doing it, but I think it will be a book slightly more for children.” continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
In just six days, J.K. Rowling has sold 375,000 copies in all formats of her new novel for adults.
Little, Brown and Company publisher Michael Pietsch explained in a statement: “The Casual Vacancy has exceeded our expectations in its first six days in stores, selling 375,000 copies in all formats. We believe it is on track to become the year’s bestselling novel in hardcover.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling set a Goodreads record for the all-time biggest “started reading” day. Currently, more than 40,000 people have marked the book “to-read.”
The book unseated Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins as the book with the strongest “started reading” day. Insurgent by Veronica Roth holds third place. As of this writing, The Casual Vacancy has 38 percent five-star ratings on Goodreads.
Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler had this statement: “The Casual Vacancy is one of those stand-out books where people not only pre-order it, they start reading it as soon as they get their hands on it. On Goodreads, it beat the record for our previous all-time ‘started reading’ day which was set by Mockingjay.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
While promoting A Causal Vacancy, J.K. Rowling revealed a few juicy Harry Potter tidbits.
Deadline reported that Rowling may write another story set in the Harry Potter wizarding world that does not star The Boy Who Lived. She is also pondering a “director’s cut” version of two installments from the Harry Potter series, writing them them with more “finesse.”
Would you read the director’s cut of Harry Potter?
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
…not the creator. Having been on one of the Newberry committees I can say with complete certainty that this is what happens. Committee members are looking intently at the books through the lens of the official criteria. They absolutely DO NOT consider the authors, illustrators, editors, or anything else of that nature. They are looking full-on at the work and nothing else.
However, those of us outside the committee room are aware of those creators and it can be hard to not think about the love and thought and care they put into their books when considering them in terms of awards. But I believe it is important to understand that this cannot be considered, not just for Newbery but other awards like the National Book Award too, I would guess.
This came to mind as I read Ian Parker’s New Yorker profile of J. K. Rowling, “Mugglemarch,” some of the responses to it (say this one), and now the first reviews of The Casual Vacancy. While it is pretty impossible for any competent reviewer (and here we could get into the whole debate about reviewing but I won’t) to consider this title without considering Rowling and Harry Potter, those on a committee that works as does the Newbery would absolutely have to do just that.
Novelist J.K. Rowling has earned some divided early reviews on Amazon. As of this 10 a.m. ET writing, she counted 14 reviews: eight were five-star reviews and six were one-star reviews. The majority of these early reviewers have not read the book.
Most of the one-star reviews were written by customers complaining about the steep price of the book. Those reviews even generated a five-star review from somebody who had not read the book:
Even if this book wasn’t that great I would still give it five stars to make up for those ridiculous price reviews. They don’t contribute anything. The price for the Kindle version is high, yes, but so what? If you don’t want to pay that much then don’t buy it. Just don’t ruin the star rating with useless review. By the way, even though I gave this book five stars for the reason I mentioned, I am sure I will very much enjoy it.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Harry Potter Readalikes
You know when you find an amazing book, and you never want it to end? How do you find another book to read after that? Our answer: Readalikes to the rescue! We hope our Readalikes will rescue you from the what-to-read-next question, and help you find lots of new amazing books.
Today's Readalikes are for the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Just before Harry's 11th birthday an owl tries to deliver him a mysterious letter with a very special message. The letter tells Harry that he has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It turns out that Harry is not just an unwanted orphan, but a hero in a wizarding world that he never even knew existed. This starts him on an amazing path to magic, adventure, friendship, and family. In other words. . . . BEST. BOOKS. EVER!
There are 7 books in the Harry Potter series, plus The Tales of Beedle the Bard, plus the movies. Once you are done with all those, try out these other magical books for ages 9-11. Click on the book cover below to see more Harry Potter Readalike books you might also love.
Hope you enjoy our Readalikes!
—Emily, Scholastic Booktalker
Hermione Granger Trivia Quiz
Hello, Harry Potter lovers! Did you drink a glass of butterbeer in honor of Hermione's birthday on September 21? Or maybe it would have been more appropriate to, like, do some extra homework, or read a 4,000-page book in your spare time. Anyway, we love Hermione and we celebrated her with a Hermione Trivia Quiz last week. Here are the answers. Let's see how much you know about the brightest witch of her age.
- How much does the Daily Prophet cost? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 62)
ANSWER: b) 5 bronze Knuts. An owl delivers the paper to Hagrid while on the Hut-on-the-Rock.
- What’s the breakdown for Wizarding money? (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone page 75)
ANSWER: 29 bronze Knuts to a Sickle, and 17 silver Sickles to 1 gold Galleon.
- Which bricks are tapped to get into Diagon Alley from behind the Leaky Cauldron? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 70)
ANSWER: a) 3 up and 2 across. Hagrid surprises Harry by using his umbrella to open the secret entrance.
- How many staircases are there at Hogwarts? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 131)
ANSWER: b) 142
- Which is NOT one of Professor Dumbledore’s first words at Harry's first Hogwarts welcoming ceremony? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 123)
ANSWER: d) Doodlebug
- Since when has Ollivanders Wand Shop been in business? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 81)
ANSWER: d) 382 BC. Insane!
- Which is NOT an ingredient in the Polyjuice Potion? (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets page 165)
ANSWER: a) Cat hair. Hermione accidentally had cat hair in her first attempt at the Polyjuice Potion, and it caused the spell to go horribly wrong. Animal hairs and Polyjuice Potions do not mix!
- What is the first thing that Hermione makes float during Professor Flitwick's Charms class? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone page 171)
ANSWER: b) a feather. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
- What is Hermione's patronus? (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix page 607)
ANSWER: b) an otter. It’s not easy to do an Expecto Patronum spell, but of course Hermione managed to master it.
- What do Hermione's parents do for a living? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
ANSWER: They are both dentists.
— Elysse, STACKS Writer
Illustration by Mary GrandPre
In a long profile of J.K. Rowling at The New Yorker, journalist Ian Parker shared some juicy tidbits about The Casual Vacancy–a novel for adults by the Harry Potter author that has been guarded by nondisclosure agreements and a strict embargo.
If you want to find out more about the top secret novel before it comes out on September 27th, you should read the whole “Mugglemarch” profile.
SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t want to know more about the book, you should stop reading now. Below, we’ve collected five spoilers from the article that show us more about the book.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Hermione Granger Trivia Quiz
Hello, Harry Potter lovers!
In July, we gave you a Harry Potter Trivia Quiz in honor of good old Harry for his birthday on July 31, and now that Hermione's birthday is coming up on September 21, we thought, "Why not have one for Hermione's birthday?" So here it is! If you need a hint, we have included the books where you can find the answers. Put on your thinking caps (or Sorting Hat if you are lucky enough to have one) and enjoy!
- How much does the Daily Prophet cost? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) 1 bronze Knut
b) 5 bronze Knuts
c) 2 bronze Knuts
d) 1 Sickle
- Here’s a tricky one. What’s the breakdown for Wizarding money? (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
- Which bricks are tapped to get into Diagon Alley from behind the Leaky Cauldron? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) 3 up and 2 across
b) 4 across and 1 up
c) 1 across and 4 up
d) 5 up and 2 across
- How many staircases are there at Hogwarts? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) 73
b) 142
c) 24
d) 89
- Which is NOT one of Professor Dumbledore’s first words at Harry's first Hogwarts welcoming ceremony? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) Nitwit
b) Blubber
c) Oddment
d) Doodlebug
- Since when has Ollivanders Wand Shop been in business? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) 1901 AD
a) 1576 AD
b) 417 AD
c) 382 BC
- Which is NOT an ingredient in the Polyjuice Potion? (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
a) Cat hair
b) Pulverized blades of knotgrass
c) 1 ounce of crude Antimony
d) 12 lacewing flies that have been stewed for 21 days
- What is the first thing that Hermione makes float during Professor Flitwick's Charms class? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
a) A gerbil
b) A feather
c) A ball
d) A piece of paper
- What is Hermione's patronus? (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
a) a dog
b) an otter
c) a cat
d) an owl
- What do Hermione's parents do for a living? (Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone)
Leave your answers and your happy birthday wishes to Hermione in the Comments, and come back next Tuesday to check your answers.
— Elysse, STACKS Writer
Illustration by Mary GrandPre
1. The Harry Potter Reading Club.
J.K. Rowling, in conjunction with publisher Scholastic, has launched an online book club for younger readers. The club will be hosted by scholastic, but will regularly feature Rowling in global webcast (October to be the first) to interact with her fans. Scholastic hope it will be used by librarians and teachers as a tool to engage new readers with the Harry Potter world, describing it as ‘live virtual author visit to classrooms’.
2. The Soul of the Library in the Digital World.
A fascinating article that talks about what the ebook phenomena is doing with the morality of the librarian. The choices that digital print offer, has created a new set of values and morality that the librarian has to consider. Andromeda Yelton discusses how the digital world affects (what she considers) the core librarianship values: privacy, sharing, preservation and access.
3. Back from the Grave: Queensland Literary Awards.
Formerly the Queensland Premiers Literary Awards, The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year will be announced in September.
4. Book Sculptures.
In one of those feel good life moments, a series of ‘book sculptures’ (objects made completely from a book), anonymously left at a local Scottish library last year, are being taken on the road for a national tour. The anonymous artist wanted to celebrate “libraries, books, words and ideas”. One of the best ode’s to libraries I’ve seen.
5. Underground.
The Underground New York Public Library is a visual library featuring the Reading-Riders of the NYC subways.
It also happens to be my new favourite blog. To see the utter absorption on the face of the readers, to know that the fictional works have transported them from a smelly (I assume), crowded and loud train carriages to literary worlds rife with imagination… well it’s just an absolute delight.
6. Reading for the Visually Impaired.
I had the occasion, during my former life as a bookseller, to come across a lovely woman who was in search for large print books for her visually impaired daughter. Her daughter loved to read, but had a degenerative eye condition that made reading difficult and slow. Desperate to help, I began to research. I fo
In May I wrote about reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to my eldest daughter, Nykita, aged nine (see “Revisiting Harry”). She was so excited by the book that we immediately moved on to the next one, which we polished off rather quickly. It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally gotten around to writing about the experience.
I am pleased to report that Nykita loved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret as much as, if not more than, the first book. She found the ghost of Moaning Myrtle, and her tendency to dive into toilets, particularly amusing. But she also found this book to be a little scarier than the first — especially the encounter with Aragog and the giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest. She also seemed a little distressed that his fellow students were so quick to turn on Harry and believe him to be the Heir of Slytherin.
As with the previous book, we followed it up by watching the film. Again, Nykita liked the film but preferred the book, although she thought the spider scene was more frightening in the film.
With book two done and dusted, you’d think that we would move straight on to book three. Not so. Nykita seemed rather torn — on the one hand she was eager for more Harry Potter; but on the other hand, she was worried that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban might be even scarier, and she thought that The Chamber of Secrets was scary enough. In the end, we decided that we would wait a while and read book three over the Christmas holidays, when she would be a little older and more capable of handling a scarier book. 
And my opinion? What do I think now, after all these years, revisiting both book and film in close proximity?
I think Chamber of Secrets is a better book than The Philosopher’s Stone. It has all the charm and wit of the first book, but not as many lapses in logic. The only one that really stands out is the basilisk using the Hogwarts plumbing to make its way around the school. All I can say is that, given the enormity of the basilisk, Hogwarts must have some pretty bloody BIG pipes running through its walls. As for the actual plot, it is more intriguing than the first — the idea that Voldemort preserved a teenage version of himself (then called Tom Riddle) in his school diary. It’s a clever way of having a different villain, who is also the same villain. And, of course, it’s all followed through in later books when the diary is revealed as one of the seven Horcruxes into which Voldemort placed his split-apart soul.
As for the film, I think it’s better than the first. The young actors have all settled into their roles and the story flows along much better — it feels more cohesive than the first. It’s interesting to note the changes that the filmmakers have made from the book. Nothing too big. Most of those changes have been to condense the plot or to make things more vi
J. K. Rowling's Hogwarts Tree House Writing Prompt
I read a rumor in the British tabloid The Daily Mail that Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling is planning a Hogwarts-style tree house for her kids in the backyard of their Edinburgh mansion, and it looks awesome!
How lucky are those kids? Her son David is 9, and daughter Mackenzie is 7. They each get their own house with a 40-foot tower. There will be a rope bridge connecting them, and a secret tunnel entrance and trap door leading into David's house. Kenzie's house will have a spiral staircase and a slide. Another bridge will lead to the trampoline and swings. It is estimated to cost around 150,000 British pounds. That's about 237,000 dollars!
If you had enough money to build Hogwarts in your backyard, what features would YOU include? My tree house would have moving staircases for sure . . . and also a house elf! Leave a Comment to tell us about your magical Hogwarts tree house.
— Sonja, STACKS Staffer
Hey everyone,
So, as a part of our revamp I was thinking about releasing something I have been working on for a while. As you know both amanda and I love books and don't know what we would do without them, but some people aren't nearly as fortunate to have the money to afford books or a library with a large selection to check them out from.
This is the basis behind Mortals Give Back, we make t-shirts with favourite quotes from books and with the purchase of one we donate a book to a community in need. They would sell for around $22.00 not including shipping and for now they come in two quotes on two different colour t-shirts.
One is the quote "it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" from Harry Potter around the deathly hallows symbol. It will look something like this:
The second is a quote from The Perks of Being a Wallflower and it's "and in that moment I swear we were infinite" and it will look something like this:
So my question to you is:
is this something that you would be interested in?
Last Wednesday, in my annual bramble jelly making bonanza, I managed to restrict the blackberry juice splatter to the hob splashback, so my kitchen didn’t look too much like a scene from CSI, and the bramble jelly was coerced into behaving and set perfectly.
Then on the weekend I was in the south Shropshire hills and decided to collect hedgerow fruits to make hedgerow jelly. Identifying the edible fruits and berries was going to be the major problem for me, but I was fortunate to be with someone who could easily identify all the different trees and bushes that made up the hedgerows in and around Clun. My friend Tim let me borrow two books that he’d picked up in a second hand book shop for a couple of pounds: Wild Food by Roger Phillips, A Unique Photographic Guide, and Food for Free by Richard Mabey. I’m so glad he lent them to me as when I checked the price for my own copy of Wild Food I found that I could by a new copy for £44.99 or a used copy for £25! The photography is amazing and the recipes are interesting, so when I do have to return my friend’s book, I may have to source my own copy.
The weekend made me very aware of the huge gap in my learning. I went to school in a large town in Buckinghamshire. Countryside surrounds the town, but because we didn’t learn to identify different types of trees and flowers at school, my knowledge of what makes up the countryside is severely lacking. Over the years I’ve picked up a little knowledge, but there are still huge gaps – and the gaps in the hedgerows are the worst!
What little I know of them comes from reading – and much of it from my passion for myths and legends, fantasy and magic. Hedgerows don’t just figure in Celtic and Gaelic folklore, but in traditional folklore right across England and Europe. In Europe, stakes for killing vampires were made of hawthorn; in Gaelic folklore hawthorn was said to mark the entrance to the underworld.
The Hazel Branch in Grimm’s Fairy tales provides protection against snakes; the Celts believed that hazelnuts gave them wisdom. In some traditions the cutting down of an Elder tree could result in angering the fairies – they always made their instruments from the wood of the elder tree, whilst in other places the elder tree was thought to ward off evil spirits.
In Celtic mythology the rowan tree was called the Traveller’s Tree because it helped travellers find their way; magicians’ staffs were often made of rowan. In Europe the Rowan tree was thought to provide protection from malevolent beings. In Norse mythology it was the tree from which the first woman was created. I’ve barely touched upon this huge subject and now that autumn is here and winter nights will soon be upon is, it might be time to delve into the rich folklore that surrounds these hedges and trees.
Myths and traditional folklore have always provided an inspiration in literature, and hedgerow trees still find a place. The combined wisdom of the SAS will hopefully point out all the many references to the them in children’s literature, but to start it off Susan Cooper’s
The Dark is Rising contains references to hawthorn and elder. In Michelle Paver’s
Chronicles of an Ancient Darkness her characters are constantly making offerings to the forest when they take something from it, and, of course, Harry Potter’s wand was made of Elder
Elder, rowan, hawthorn, hazel and blackthorn proliferated in the hedgerows around Clun. I took lots of photographs, but I’m now faced with the task of telling them apart!
On our walk we came across a local organic farmer, Trevor Wheeler who had just built The Brynmawr Nature Centre on his hill farm, which was constructed essentially from bales of straw and complete with a composting toilet. It’s for schools, he said, for teachers and for kids to spend some time learning by enjoying the bio-diversity of the local area, and experiencing the importance of maintaining habitats and natural landscape. He also has plans to turn an area of his farm into raised beds, wildlife pond area, vegetable allotment, nature reserve, woodland walk, and the attitude “if you have any other ideas of what kids might like to learn about, then let me know.” Trevor's farm is completely organic and eco-friendly.
I wouldn’t have minded growing up near somewhere like that – I wouldn’t have the huge gaps that I have now.
(PS I’ve rechecked the price of Wild Food, a Unique Photographic Guide by Roger Phillips, on Amazon and you can now get a used copy for £17.16, which is still a little hefty. Perhaps it’ll drop down further...)
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan, Published by Andersen Press
www.savitakalhan.comThe Long Weekend book trailerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14TfYyHgD6YThe Poet, a short story by Savita KalhanPublished in Even Birds are Chained to the Sky, by Fine Line Publishinghttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Even-Birds-Chained-Other-Tales/dp/0956761054/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1
If you search for information about Emma Watson online, you have a one in eight chance of visiting a malicious website.
Hackers and spam sites have used Watson (pictured, via) to lure unsuspecting readers, and she has been named the Most Dangerous Cyber Celebrity by the technology security company, McAfee.
This is the eighth year McAfee has tracked the most dangerous stars. Supermodel Heidi Klum led the list last year.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
1. The new readers of Young Adult fiction.
I venture to say that having 55% of YA buyers be adults isn’t that much of a surprise. Ever since the Harry Potter books – and the rather ingenious marketing strategy to have ‘children’ and ‘adult’ covers – it seems like YA has found itself in the hands of the slightly older. Children books are an interesting and unique genre – being the only genre to contain age brackets. It’s great to see that the idea of ‘age’ is being less of a deciding factor.
2. Roald Dahl Day.
Last Thursday was Roald Dahl Day. In one of those rather panic-filled moments I was asked for my favourite Dahl book. I could no sooner choose a favourite pet. It was too much!
With the threat of life and limb, I finally whittled the list down to two: The Witches and Matilda. Do you have a favourite? It’s hard to pick just one, isn’t it?!
For when Dahl Day comes next around, there are Roald Dahl packs to entice your students with.
There is also a new biography out, written by Michael Rosen – yes that would be Michael Rosen of We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Visit The Guardian UK for a short extract of the new book.
3. The Wordtamer.
Warning: words are wild creatures, which need careful handling.
Wordtamer follows the three necessary creative writing implements; plot, character and words. Wordtamer is a really fun and interactive way to teach your students creative writing exercises. This is one of those situations where you claim you’re testing the website out for your students, but really it’s just too much fun not to play with.
4. Secret Powers and Stickers?
I can’t say I’ve ever made the correlation between stickers and buying a book… but once I had a moment to reflect, I realised I do make book buying decisions based on stickers, although in a slightly different context – I am drawn toward books with award prizes on the front cover.
It is no doubt a great marketing tool for the teens when making a reading decision – a kind of follow-the-yellow-brick-road mentality.
5. KOALA Awards, Voting Open Now!
Much like the Inky Awards, the K.O.A.L.A (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) Awards encourages voting by the readership; children and teens.
K.O.A.L.A is for New South Wales readers only.
Voting closes on the 21st of September, so encourage your students and book clubbers to log online.
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I think the new cover gives a better glimpse of the story. You can 'feel' more of the story's vibe with the new cover.
I like it, I feel like it gives a better sense of the world. Oh wait, Melanie just said that. Oh well, I say it too.
I love the depth in the image. It draws you in the way the story should.
Also - it's been 15 years already?!? Gah!
*LOVE* this^ one.
Overall I like it, I'm a fan of the 'cool blue' look of it. However, I do think the smaller lettering of Rowling's name and the not-exactly-a-subtitle gets lost a bit in the background.
I'm in agreement with the others. I like it!
I like it, too! He did a wonderful job with this first book, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other covers. Nothing will ever compare to Mary GrandPre's magical illustrations, though. I still prefer the originals! Can't believe it's been 15 years already.
Ooh, gorgeous! But what I loved most about the original covers were their progression from light to dark as the series got darker and darker. The kind of blue feeling of this cover doesn't convey the initial joy of the magical world enough, I don't think.
I think it is beautiful!
Gorgeous! Although I liked the original artist, this is terrific.
If the Publisher is trying to sell books, this is very smart. I might buy one for a collectable.
Is it really 15 years???? Wow.
I love the new cover, but not enough to buy them again.
I'm normally resistant against change, but I have to admit I love the new cover for Sorcerer's Stone. It's such a beautiful portrayal of Diagon Alley! I also think you get a sense of how big this world is, how much wonder there is, which wasn't quite established with the original cover (though I did really like the Mary GrandPre covers, especially the later ones).
I like the old cover. Although this new one gives you a sense of the Harry Potter world,I think the lack of that with the old covers was part of the fun. The further you read into the story the more your mind could imagine and create the world in your head.
If this had been the original cover I would have read Harry Potter a lot sooner. Not because of a lack of skill on the first cover artist's part, but because this cover evokes exactly what I want from fantasy.
New cover is awesome. Makes me want to read it for, oh, the fifth time. Not really, I have lots more important things to do. But I do think it's way mo' bettah than the original. :)
I like it! I have never read any of the books and am an aspiring writer, yes I hold my head low in shame, its become one of my bucket list things to accomplish.
Oh Keisha, you definitely must add them to your TBR list! JeffO, I agree that the subtitle seems to fade into the background. But, overall I love the image and its dimensions. There is great depth which, like Lauren said, draws you in.
I hope it does attract that tween audience that grew up with the movies but haven't yet read the books.
Can't say I care for this one. Though to be fair, I didn't care for the original cover of this book either. My preteen and my teenager say that the new cover makes it look like Hagrid is the main character, accompanied by an owl-wielding sidekick.
I just can't get behind this one. It's nice and all, but Harry looks remarkably like Where's Waldo... I'll stick to the original.
And to mirror what others have said "15 years already?" Yikes.
It's a beautiful cover. It looks as if it's designed specifically to appeal to a younger reader. Are they trying to pull in the next generation of readers? Since their original fans are aging, that's probably really smart marketing. Sales will tell.
I guess I'm too nostalgic. I like the old better.
I like it. I think I prefer it to the original cover.
I'm too depressed over it being 15 years already to think about it much.
Ok, I like it.
I have been a fan of Kazu Kibuishi since discovering the 'Flight' graphic novels in the library. His artwork is beautiful and magical. I know he will do justice to the series. This makes me want to buy the books again, just to have these fantastic covers!
Personally, I prefer the french covers which respect more the spirit of the book.
Take a look :
Cover 4
Cover 7