- Paperback: 74 pages
- Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd; Rev ed. edition (24 May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1405200529
- ISBN-13: 978-1405200523
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 0.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 825,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
Have a one-to-one with the very best authors in contemporary children's fiction, as Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and J.K. Rowling answer questions about their childhood, relationships, how they began to write and where they get their ideas from. There is also a literary appreciation of each author by a prominent critic, and a comprehensive list of all the author's published works. The text is illustrated with photographs and mementoes from the authors' own archives.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book essentially consists of two parts. The first part is a 40 page inteview with J.K.Rowling. The questions are really all about J.K.Rowling rather than her books, so if you're looking for hints about future plot twists then you should consider looking elsewhere. However, if you are interested in the life of Mrs Rowling then you will probably find this part of the book very interesting. The second part of the book is an overview of the Harry Potter books and a bibliography, both by Lindsey Fraser. This part of the book is of questionable value. The problems are that it is rather rambling and that it contains errors. Perhaps some people find rambling prose quite pleasant to read, but the mistakes are really fairly unforgivable. Let me give you two examples.
The first example is in the overview section. Ms Fraser writes; "That first summer holiday back at Privet Drive must have been dreadful, now that he knew how enjoyable and exciting life could be. Because he didn't realise that his mail was being intercepted by his uncle and aunt, he also thought his new friends had forgotten all about him." Anyone who has read 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' will be able to tell you that it is in fact Dobby who has been withholding Harry's letters, and not his aunt and uncle. Has Ms Fraser read book 2?
The second example is taken from the bibliography and is even worse. Ms Fraser writes; "The Quidditch World Cup is the thrilling high point of Harry's summer holiday prior to his return to Hogwarts for a fourth year. There his name is drawn from the Goblet of Fire to Represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament featuring Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest wizarding schools." If Ms Fraser had actually read 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (which she ought to have done if she were going to write something about its plot) then I would have expected her to know that the Triwizard tournament does not feature Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest wizarding schools. In fact, it doesn't involve any teams at all. Moreover, it doesn't involve Quittitch at all! It has only four competitors in it, none of whom are required to play Quidditch, and none of whom take part as members of a team. Has Ms Fraser read book 4?
In conclusion, the interview section will be of interest to fans of Mrs Rowling, but the overview and bibiography have a very 'thrown together' feel and will not, I suspect, be of much use, to anyone.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you have just discovered the Harry Potter books and want to learn more about their author, this is the book for you. In addition to the interview, there is a summary of the books and a description of the main characters.
If you are a real fan and have read the news paper interviews, you will know some of it already, but you will still find many new details. In this interview Joanne Rowling elaborates on her childhood, her likes and dislikes, and on how she came to write the Harry Potter books. Especially, the details of her childhood in the country are very endearing.
All in all, a very nice, little book for young and old, for novices and aficionados.
Format:Paperback
So why only 3 out of 5?
Firstly, it's short. Only 74 pages in all, and the text have been formatted with line spaces. Although, the book is called "an Interview," I would have thought it would be a little more substantial. The interview questions are fundamental questions you would ask an author regarding his or her books, growing up, inspiration, their interests, etcetera. I would have expected something more insightful. It's not all bad news, considering the books was published in ten years ago, which can seem like a lifetime ago considering the development of the further books, and naturally the films, it's not a bad read. Most of the questions I've read/heard before (seeing as I'm a fan of Potter and Jo too,) but there were still parts I enjoyed reading.
Secondly, this book (which is frequently at the top of the biography lists about Jo) unfortunately, contains errors. The bibliographies and the end of the book contain a short blurb. For Goblet of Fire, however, the author writes "...Triwizard Tournament featuring Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest Wizarding schools." This is wrong. Two foreign schools (Beauxbatons Academy of Magic & Durmstrang) attend Hogwarts, and an individual from both compete with Harry and Cedric in the tournament. The schools are not Quidditch teams. Second, during Lindsey Fraser's interviews, she mentions that Harry's post is being intercepted by his aunt and uncle. Wrong again. It's the beloved Dobby who's the culprit. This doesn't inspire much confidence.
Another reviewer, quite rightly, has also identified these erroneous entries.
The book is far from penetrative, and aside from the Q&As, you can pretty much guess what the remaining overview of the book discusses. If you're new to Harry Potter, or have only skimmed through the wondrous pages, then perhaps this books with enlighten you. But if you've read the books and done some research on Jo, I don't think you'll unearth anything new here.
At the end of the book, there are two drawings of Fawkes, and the Sorting Hat (drawn by Jo herself) which made me smile.
Firstly, it's short. Only 74 pages in all, and the text have been formatted with line spaces. Although, the book is called "an Interview," I would have thought it would be a little more substantial. The interview questions are fundamental questions you would ask an author regarding his or her books, growing up, inspiration, their interests, etcetera. I would have expected something more insightful. It's not all bad news, considering the books was published in ten years ago, which can seem like a lifetime ago considering the development of the further books, and naturally the films, it's not a bad read. Most of the questions I've read/heard before (seeing as I'm a fan of Potter and Jo too,) but there were still parts I enjoyed reading.
Secondly, this book (which is frequently at the top of the biography lists about Jo) unfortunately, contains errors. The bibliographies and the end of the book contain a short blurb. For Goblet of Fire, however, the author writes "...Triwizard Tournament featuring Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest Wizarding schools." This is wrong. Two foreign schools (Beauxbatons Academy of Magic & Durmstrang) attend Hogwarts, and an individual from both compete with Harry and Cedric in the tournament. The schools are not Quidditch teams. Second, during Lindsey Fraser's interviews, she mentions that Harry's post is being intercepted by his aunt and uncle. Wrong again. It's the beloved Dobby who's the culprit. This doesn't inspire much confidence.
Another reviewer, quite rightly, has also identified these erroneous entries.
The book is far from penetrative, and aside from the Q&As, you can pretty much guess what the remaining overview of the book discusses. If you're new to Harry Potter, or have only skimmed through the wondrous pages, then perhaps this books with enlighten you. But if you've read the books and done some research on Jo, I don't think you'll unearth anything new here.
At the end of the book, there are two drawings of Fawkes, and the Sorting Hat (drawn by Jo herself) which made me smile.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Concise, clear and just what I needed.
I was teaching my Year 6's about auto-biographies/biographies and this book helped immensely as we had a Harry Potter theme. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Bootylicious
Good - but for younger fans!
This is a good little book and was a welcome addition to my bookshelf. It provides some interesting background information about Rowling's childhood, her life and her motivations. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2003 by hmcni
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
