J.K. Rowling has
made the news again recently, with outlets blasting headlines like “J.K.
Rowling to Release 12 New ‘Harry Potter’ Stories (abc news) and “J.K. Rowling
Finally Gives Harry Potter Fans What They Want.” Unfortunately, these aren’t
the new novels (or even short stories) that so many of her die-hard fans long
for. Instead, they are bits of background information on characters, locations,
and other details in the Harry Potter universe that never quite made it to the
original books. Rowling made it clear in interviews and press releases during
the times of publication that she had thoroughly planned out the wizarding
world in which her characters live. Now, Rowling is taking that information and
using it on her website: www.pottermore.com.
What is Pottermore? Pottermore is an interactive
website that walks users through all seven of the Harry Potter books, chapter by chapter. Each chapter contains an
illustration depicting a certain story event (Hagrid arriving at the hut on the
rock, Sybil Trelawney’s sacking etc). Within each illustration or chapter,
users can collect items for potion making, Chocolate Frog cards and even unlock
new information about the characters or other elements of wizarding world. For
example, have you ever wondered how Petunia Dursley got her name? Or why
wizards measure in inches while the rest of Britain measures in centimeters? Or
why Harry couldn’t see the thestrals until after Cedric Diggory died, yet he
saw his mother die as an infant? These are all things learned in the various
chapters. Users can also brew potions, be sorted into their house , earn House
Points and download the eBook and eAudio versions of the books.
Elizabeth Shirek
Chisago Lakes Area Branch Librarian
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