Quidditch Through The Ages, by J. K. Rowling (as Kennilworthy Whisp) (Scholastic, 2001)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by J. K. Rowling (as Newt Scamander) (Scholastic, 2001)

What a brilliant idea. Riding on the intense popularity and energy of the first four books in her much-acclaimed Harry Potter series, author J. K. Rowling decided to do something a little different, feeding our Harry Potter addictions, and doing something good with her current cult status. So she wrote this pair of books, whose premise is that they’re actual replicas of books found in the series. Magical Beasts is supposedly one of Harry’s schoolbooks, while Quidditch is the Hogwarts library copy. All proceeds from the sales of these books go directly to a charity designed to help children around the world.

It’s a safe bet that if you’re at all familiar with Harry Potter (and the way its popularity is spreading, it’s hard not to have at least a passing familiarity with its existence), you’re familiar with the concept behind these books. Fantastic Beasts is a compendium of many of the fantastical, dangerous, and unusual creatures that inhabit the world of Harry Potter. It includes things as commonplace as dragons and unicorns, and gets as downright obscure and esoteric as Acromantulas, Knarls, and Streelers. The entries are informative, entertaining, and capture the spirit of the Potter books perfectly, with whimsical drawings, and bizarre names and incidents that fit right into the unpredictable wizarding world. The true bonus, however, has to be the snarky comments scrawled in the margins by Harry and his friends, in-jokes which will make perfect sense to anyone who’s read the novels. A quirky little book, it’s worth the price just for the sheer whimsy and childlike glee of its existence.

While it’s not exactly a primer to understanding Harry’s world, it’s the perfect addition or stocking stuffer.Quidditch Through The Ages is written in the same vein, as though it were an actual artifact from the wizarding world, complete to the faux fading and scuff marks on the cover. It’s a thorough history of the wizarding world’s most popular and impossible sport, an activity noted for its fourteen players on broomsticks, two hoops, and four balls, two of which are decidedly aggressive to the point of unhealthiness. With everything from how the sport evolved, to some of the many fancy moves used in the game, to the major teams of Britain and Ireland, to notable fouls, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted to know, and then some.

Frankly, if you like Harry Potter, you should have these two books, and they do go together best as a set. If you’re not a fan, shame on you. There’s little excuse not to check these books out as they transcend labels like “fantasy” or “children’s literature,” and have something to appeal to just about anyone. Well, anyone except for fundamentalists, people without imagination, people who don’t read … but you get the point. I’m a dyed -in-the-wool, converted-my-own-wife fan, and I have to say, these books are a delight, through and through. And it doesn’t hurt that the proceeds go to Harry’s Fund, which is associated with Britain’s Comic Relief charity.

So go get a few copies. One for yourself, one for a friend, and one to give to someone at random. That’s what I did.