Harry Potter: The Creature Vault by Jody Revenson

Title: Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
Author: Jody Revenson
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 28th October 2014
Genre: Non-Fiction

Summary:
Behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films, hundreds of talented people worked hard to bring the creatures in J. K. Rowling's wizarding world to life. Harry Potter: The Creature Vault looks at the methods and techniques they used to capture the imaginations of millions across the world.

Review:
I love everything Harry Potter. The books. The films. Everything. And as I have always found the way the films were created fascinated (I've been to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour five times...) I was eager to read this book to learn a bit more about the series.

When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

Title: When Mr Dog Bites
Author: Brian Conaghan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date: 16th January 2014
Genre: Young Adult

Summary:
Dylan Mint has Tourette's. His life is a constant battle against Mr Dog - his inner beast that makes him tic, swear and growl. However, Mr Dog may win once and for all as, whilst at the hospital for a routine visit, he overhears a conversation between the doctor and his mum. Something is going to happen in March, and it is not good news as, apparently, he is going to die...

Determined to make the most of his last few months, he makes his own list of 'Things To Do Before I Die.'

Review:
Firstly, I would just like to say that I read this book in less than a day. Even if it was only like three hundred pages; it was such an easy and enjoyable read.

The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear

Sorry for the lack of books reviews lately; I have been swamped (no exaggeration there!) with university work :-(

However, seeing as I haven't blogged in a couple of days, I thought I would do something a bit different and review a collection of poetry... This could either go very right, or very, very wrong.

Oh, and it is World Poetry Day today!!

Collection: Faber Children's Classics; The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear
Works Included: A Book of Nonsense (1846) Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets (1871) More Nonsense, Pictures, Rhymes, Botany, etc. (1872) Laughable Lyrics, A Fourth Book of Nonsense Poems, Songs, Botany, Music, etc. (1877) and Nonsense Songs and Stories (1895)
Author: Edward Lear
Editor: Holbrook Jackson

Review: 
Poetry is a something I am not entirely comfortable with. I mean, I struggle to appreciate it most of the time; let alone understand and enjoy it!

The (Not So) Legacy of Roald Dahl

When I was little my mum brought me a Roald Dahl boxset, which contained such children's classics like The Twits, Matilda, The Witches and James and the Giant Peach, and started my love of reading. I really admire the creativity and imagination that went into his books and the way they showed kids that they can make a difference and do amazing things. Everyone I know read, and enjoyed, his books when they were little and, in effect, they have become a staple of my generation.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

(2001 Puffin edition)

I was therefore really surprised when I found some statistics, which were published by Renaissance Learning, that revealed that not one of Dahl's books was in the Top 10 Children's Best Loved Books in 2013! According to the 2013 What Kids are Reading survey, which gathered information from 300,000 schoolchildren from years 1-13, Dahl's stories were beaten by books including Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and Anthony Horowitz's Crocodile Tears. However, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling do make an appearance, so I guess all is not lost and children nowadays do have a partially decent taste in books! 

Whilst the books themselves seem to be losing popularity with younger readers; according to the survey, Dahl does lead the Top 10 Most-Read Children's Authors. This shows that whilst the reading tastes of children are changing; the nation does still value Dahl and his genius creations. The problem is therefore that they are just not being enjoyed by modern, young audiences... but why? What has changed?

5 Reasons Why Harry Potter is the Best Children's Series of All Time

Today my best friend and I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour for the third (yes, third) time.

As you can probably tell I am a huge Harry Potter fan, specifically of the books. I have loads of memorabilia (including an iPhone case, travel mug and Gryffindor scarf) have ridden on a broomstick three times, have drunk Butterbear in two different continents and have been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.

My recent visit down Harry Potter memory lane got me thinking about why generations across the World have fallen in love with this series and inspired so many. The following are the reasons I have come up with (there's probably many, many more...).

1) An amazing book makes a great film

I am a huge fan of the films and, like many, I watched the films before I read the books. However, when I did read the books; I realised that the films do not do them justice. Much of Rowling's creativity, spark and imagination is lost, like many book to film productions, as the scale and detail of the world she created is not done justice in the films. For example, did you know that when translated into Aramaic, the killing curse, Avada Kedavra means "I will destroy as I speak"?! That is absolute genius. Why would you cut any of that creativity? After reading the books, I therefore felt somewhat at a loss and could not get over the amount that was changed and left out of the films.