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Voices from the Press
The Magazin/>
“The books of the 38 years old J.K. Rowling are written for 9-11 years old Childs, but they are better than 92% of the adult literature.”
The Financial Times
“Rowling is an exciting new talent, and Harry Potter is an excellent reading-pleasure; without end fantastic and funny.”
The Times
“Such a marriage of good writing, inventiveness and cheer child-appeal has not been since Roald Dahl, perhaps even since Tolkien and Lewis. J.K. Rowling has woken a whole generation to reading.”
Beacham’s Sourcebook for teaching young adult fiction, Elizabeth D. Schafer
“Harry represents the quest to know oneself and understand the forces of the world he lives in. But he is also realistic. […] Today’s Harry Potter readers are our future prime ministers, presidents, parents, teachers… Regardless of their age, cultural affiliation, or socio-economic status, readers will not forget Harry and the lessons he taught them about believing in themselves, being resourceful, and incorporating imagination, a sense of wonder and empathy for humanity in their daily lives to enriche the world.”
Success of the books
Joanne K. Rowling, the author, is 38 years old, has a ten-years-old daughter, Jessica, and is one of the most successful female writers in the world.
Until now, there were published 4 volumes:
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret’s
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
They are about 50 million times sold in the world only in four years and are translated in about 40 languages.
The first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was very modest: only 500 copies (!!!).
In contrast to the first edition of the fourth Harry Potter book “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” which has 4,8 million copies.
So, these four books of her are holding places 1,2,3,4 in the New-York-Times bestseller list. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was 40 weeks in the New-York-Times -, USA today – and Publishers Weekly – bestseller list! In German Spiegel-list they hold places 1,2,3,4 from Oct. 2000.
Nobody can really explain the reason why the books are so successful.
With the logic of the market it never could have taken place:
The books …
• have between 350 and 400 pages. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has 800 pages)
• contain with antiquated Hardware like owls, broomsticks and potions.
• have uncool topics like friendship, trust and readiness to make sacrifices.
• hero Harry Potter is growing, getting one year older in every book. So, he’s not staying 11 years old every time like it takes place in many other books for children. It doesn’t offer this lie of everlasting childhood, like e.g. in Peter Pan.
It’s like a revolt of the kids against the marketing-strategies and occupational therapies from the adult-world. You can’t really plan kids!!
Harry Potter has a story and a soul, Pikachu and his Pokémon-friends are only merchandise without any substance.
Hogwarts is a kind of apart from real world. Like a world to escape from the real world with all these problems like divorced parents, punishment, nobody caring of them, computers, multimedia, crime, …
This is something we lost in our minds: Children need this “parallel-escape-worlds”.
One of the interesting things about Hogwarts is that it contains no technology at all. Light is provided by torches and heat by massive fireplaces. Who needs electricity when you have many of wizards and magic wands? Who, for the matter, requires post pickup and delivery when a squadron of trained owls flies messages to and from the school?
J.K. Rowling says, it is not really believable just to rob a ring, and all problems are gone. She says furthermore, that it is really important that a fantasy world has to be exactly ruled and that everybody can understand that rules. In her opinion, tension and drama can only be built by passing the borders.
There are many really funny things in the book, e.g. that people don’t stay there in their photos but moving and disappearing or the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans or Quidditch.
So, to come to a closure:
I can\'t really explain the success of these books.
Nobody can. Only reading helps, because then you can understand…
It’s not just like reading this book.
When you start reading, there happens something that is not happening in many books: you are no longer outsider or in front of the book.
It’s like you are at Hogwarts and when you turn your head, you can see the corridors of the building and you can feel the magic…
No matter what age you are.
Awards
For Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:
1997 The Guardian Children’s Fiction Price
Nestlé Smarties Gold Award
Children’s Book of the Year ‘97
1998 Children’s Book Award
Birmingham Cable Children’s Book Award
Carnegie Medal
The Guardian Children’s Fiction Award
FCBG Children’s Book Award
Anne Spencer Lindbergh Price in Children’s Literature
Young Telegraph Paperback of the Year
Parenting Book of the Year Award
Sheffield Children’s Book Award
ABBY Award
For Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret’s:
1998 Nestlé Smarties Gold Award
Children’s Book of the Year
FCGB Children’s Book Award
Whitbread Children’s Book Award of the Year
Bookseller Author of the Year
North East Scotland Book Award
1999 Author of the Year Award
Children’s Book Award
North East Book Award
Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year
Nestlé Smarties Gold Award ( for HP3)
FCBG Children’s Book Award
2000 Author of the Year Award
Children’s Book Award
Adult version
The plot is the same, only the cover is different. Some say it looks more serious.
Of course they are more expensive: 80 € instead of 56 € for the original edition.
USA
In the American Harry Potter edition some terms are different from the original English edition.
E.g. : holiday vacation
post mail
underground subway
timetable schedule
Philosopher’s Stone Sorcerer’s Stone
Tapes
The four books are also recorded on tapes and CD’s. Stephen Fry read the English version’s, Jim Dale the American and Rufus Beck the German.
These tapes are also under the best five of the bestseller lists.
Merchandising
The firm Time Warner and Warner Bros. have all rights over the Harry Potter products. There is nothing you can’t have without a Harry Potter logo on it.
• Computer game
• Lego (Lego has the licence for four years)
• “Barbie”
J.K. Rowling has everywhere a right to a say.
In the Internet you can buy these merchandising products on www.wbstore.com
Censorship
People try to forbid Harry Potter over and over again. The headmistress of the
St. Mary’s Island primary school in Kent/England forbids the books. She said that Harry Potter is supposed to be against their religious moral of the school. The reason is that the books show Wizard’s and ghosts as innocuous and nice. “That’s not what we are told by the bible!”
The Anglican Church is also against J.K.Rowling’s books. Only the evangelism church believes that Harry Potter isn’t such a problem how the other churches show.
In a command in the Old Testament is written:
So we must first forbid Pinocchio, Alice in wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella and after many other fairytales, Harry Potter.
But that’s nonsense!
In Austria or Germany weren’t problems like that till today.
Name: Joanne Kathleen Rowling
JK Rowling: Her initials were used because the publisher feared boys wouldn’t want to read the Harry Potter adventures if they knew a woman wrote it.
Born: 31st July 1965 in Chipping Sodbury General Hospital
Mother: Anne died in 1990, aged 45, from multiple sclerosis. Joanne was 25.
Father: Peter was a manager with Rolls Royce
Spouse #1: Joanne was married to Jorge Arantes, a Portuguese television journalist, in October 1992. They separated after a short time and divorced soon after the birth of their daughter.
Spouse #2: Joanne married Dr. Neil Murray on 26 December 2001. There were only 15 guests, just the family.
Children: Jessica is her only child. She was born in July 1993.
Education: she studied French and Classics; her favourite school subjects were English and languages
First story: “The first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit!”
Jobs: she worked as a secretary; in 1991, at the age of 26, Joanne went to Portugal and taught children English as a second language. Later she taught French in Edinburgh, Scotland
Harry Potter: The idea came to Joanne on a train in 1990, driving from London to Manchester. The train got stuck and so she had many time to think. She named Harry after a childhood friend, Ian Potter. She completed the first book over a five-year period while in Portugal and upon moving to Edinburgh. She spent all her spare change on items for three-month old Jessica and had little money. Joanne was on social security and got ₤ 69 per week. She wrote in cafes which let her write while the baby slept in a carriage nearby. There will be seven books in the series, one for each year Harry spends at Hogwarts.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” were published on June 1997 and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret’s” on July 1998.
First Grant: ₤ 8,000 from the Scottish Arts Council in February 1997 (with which she bought her first computer and finished “Chamber of Secret’s”)
(more about Awards on page 00)
Now J.K. Rowling is the richest person in Great Britain.
Her story sounds a bit like a PR-fairytale, but is true.
J.K. Rowling
c/o Bloomsbury Publishing
38 Soho Square
London
W1V 5DF, U.K.
Explanation
Quidditch is the only sport of the wizarding world.
There are seven players on each team who play on broomsticks in the air.
Three of them are Chasers. The Chasers have to throw the Quaffle, a large ball, through one of the hoops to score a goal, getting ten points for every goal.
There is one Keeper on each team, whose job it is to stop the chasers from scoring.
In the game the two balls which called Bludgers can knock players off their brooms. There are two Beaters on each team, trying to knock the Bludgers toward the other team members. And finally there\'s the Golden Snitch which flies around very fast.
The Seeker who catches it ends the game, getting extra hundred and fifty points.
Positions
Chaser Every Quidditch-game has three Chasers. They must throw the Quaffel through one of the three hoops.
Keeper The Keeper tries to stop the opponent team to score.
Seeker There is only one Seeker in a Quidditch team. He tries to catch the very fast Golden Snitch.
Beater The two Beaters hit the Bludgers at the opponent.
Balls
Bludger Every Quidditch-game has two black Bludgers. The two Beaters try to hit them at the opponent.
Golden Snitch The seeker catch the Golden Snitch. It is the smallest of the four balls and brings 150 points.
Quaffle The biggest of the four Quidditch-balls. The chasers try to throw him through one of the three hoops.
The Gryffindor Quidditch Team
Name Position
Alicia Johnson Chaser
Angelina Johnson Chaser
Fred Weasley Beater
George Weasley Beater
Harry Potter Seeker
Katie Bell Chaser
Lee Jordan Commentator of the match
Madam Hooch Teacher of the flying lessons
Oliver Wood Keeper
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