Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
ISBN 978-1338216790 | |
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (often referred to as simply Fantastic Beasts) is a 2001
In a 2001 interview with publisher
The book benefits the
On 12 September 2013, Warner Bros. and Rowling announced they would be producing a film inspired by the book, being the first in a series of five such films.[2] Rowling herself was the screenwriter. She came up with a plan for a movie after Warner Bros. suggested the idea. The story features Newt Scamander as a main character and is set in New York City, 70 years before Harry's story started.[3] The film was released on 18 November 2016.
On 14 March 2017 a new edition of the book, with cover illustrations by Jonny Duddle and interior illustrations by Tomislav Tomic, was published with six new creatures and a foreword by Newt Scamander. It is assumed to be a new copy as it does not feature any handwritten notes. Proceeds from this edition are donated to Lumos as well as Comic Relief.
On 7 November 2017 a new edition was published with illustrations by Olivia Lomenech Gill , featuring the aforementioned 2017 text. On 1 February 2018 a Kindle in Motion edition, featuring these illustrations with movement, was released for compatible devices.
Synopsis
Original "for Muggles" version
Fantastic Beasts purports to be a reproduction of a textbook owned by Harry Potter and written by magizoologist Newt Scamander, a character in the fictional Harry Potter series. In the series, magizoology is the study of magical creatures.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them contains the history of magizoology and describes 85 magical species found around the world. Scamander says that he collected most of the information found in the book through observations made over years of travel across five continents. He notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its fifty-second edition.
In the
The book features doodles and comments added by
The cover design of the first edition of the book features apparent claw marks from an unidentified animal.
2017 "for Wizards" version
This edition features six new creatures: the
, in addition to the original 75, and the illustrations are replaced. Newt Scamander, in the foreword, explains the reason the six new creatures were not previously included is because MACUSA president Seraphina Picquery requested the more important American creatures not be mentioned to deter wizarding sightseers at a time when the US wizarding community were subject to greater persecution than their European counterparts, and after Scamander had contributed to a serious breach of the International Statute of Secrecy in New York.Role in the Harry Potter series
The book's fictional author, Newt Scamander, does not appear in the main Harry Potter book series.
However, his name is seen on the Marauder's Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film.
Featured beasts
The following mythological beasts are listed in the book:
- Acromantula
- Ashwinder
- Augurey
- Basilisk
- Billywig
- Bowtruckle
- Bundimun
- Centaur
- Chimaera
- Chizpurfle
- Clabbert
- Crup
- Demiguise
- Diricawl
- Doxy
- Dragon
- Antipodean Opaleye
- Chinese Fireball
- Common Welsh Green
- Hebridean Black
- Hungarian Horntail
- Norwegian Ridgeback
- Peruvian Vipertooth
- Romanian Longhorn
- Swedish Short-Snout
- Ukrainian Ironbelly
- Dugbog
- Erlking
- Erumpent
- Fairy
- Fire Crab
- Flobberworm
- Fwooper
- Ghoul
- Glumbumble
- Gnome
- Graphorn
- Griffin
- Grindylow
- Hidebehind
- Hippocampus
- Hippogriff
- Hodag
- Horklump
- Horned serpent
- Imp
- Jarvey
- Jobberknoll
- Kappa
- Kelpie
- Knarl
- Kneazle
- Leprechaun
- Lethifold
- Lobalug
- Mackled Malaclaw
- Manticore
- Merpeople
- Moke
- Mooncalf
- Murtlap
- Niffler
- Nogtail
- Nundu
- Occamy
- Phoenix
- Pixie
- Plimpy
- Pogrebin
- Porlock
- Puffskein
- Quintaped
- Ramora
- Red Cap
- Re'em
- Runespoor
- Salamander
- Sea serpent
- Shrake
- Snallygaster
- Snidget
- Sphinx
- Streeler
- Tebo
- Thunderbird
- Troll
- Unicorn
- Wampus cat
- Werewolf
- Winged horse
- Yeti
Editions
- Scholastic editions
- Paperback: ISBN 0-439-29501-7
- Hardcover Box Set: ISBN 0-439-32162-X (Includes Fantastic Beasts... and Quidditch Through the Ages)
- Paperback Box Set: ISBN 0-439-28403-1
- Bloomsbury edition
- 2001 paperback: ISBN 0-7475-5466-8
- 2009 paperback: ISBN 978-1-408-80301-1
- 2017 hardcover: ISBN 978-1-408-88071-5
- Sagebrush Rebound edition
- School & Library Edition: ISBN 0-613-32541-9
- Pottermore E-book edition
- Original version: ISBN 978-1-78110-014-1
- 2017 edition: ISBN 978-1-78110-556-6
- 2017 Olivia Lomenech Gill illustrated edition: ISBN 978-1408885260
Reception
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly graded the book with an "A" and wrote "With its richly detailed history lessons and witty debate parsing the differences between being and beast, plus a compendium of 85 magical creatures that's chockablock with Rowling's trademark wordplay (Glumbumble is a standout), Beasts adds a vital new dimension to the Potter mythology."[5]
Adaptations
Audiobook
The 2017 version of the book was recorded as an unabridged audiobook in 2017. The audiobook is read by Eddie Redmayne in the character of Newt Scamander.
In 2018, the American Library Association named it one of the Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.[6]
Film adaptations
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a British-American
A sequel was released on 16 November 2018. The third movie was released on 15 April 2022 in the United Kingdom and 22 April 2022 in the United States.
Cultural adaptations
Fantastic Beasts - The Wonder of Nature was an exhibition at the
References
- ^ "News". Comic Relief. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ ""Five films exactly". JK Rowling Twitter feed". 13 October 2016.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (12 September 2013). "Warner Bros, J.K. Rowling Team For New 'Harry Potter'-Inspired Film Series". Deadline. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ "Newt Scamander is in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". YouTube.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (23 March 2001). "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Quidditch Through the Ages". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "J.K. Rowling". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022.
- ^ "A Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts Exhibition Is Coming To Natural History Museum". The Londonist. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Fantastic Beasts™ The Wonder of Nature". Google Arts & Culture.
- ^ "Virtual Museum: 14 ways to explore from home". NHM.com.
Further reading
- Newt Scamander. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001. Print. ISBN 0-439-32160-3