A Fun Read: J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I'm so excited about the upcoming 2016 film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", the first installment of a trilogy, for so many reasons - I love the world of Harry Potter, it is J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut and I can't wait for the new adventures that she had come up with, and Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne will be playing the role of the protagonist Newt Scamander. The movie is still being filmed and there's still no trailer or even teaser out but I can already imagine the beautiful creatures that they will be showing. 

The book of the same title written by J.K. Rowling where the film is based is presented as written by the fictional character from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the magizoologist Newt Scamander and as a textbook listing magical creatures, their characteristics, their classification or level of dangerousness, and of course, where to find them. The movie will be about Scamander's travels and encounters with these creatures, another magical treat for HP fans.

In light of this exciting event, I decided to revisit my copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I got it together with its companion Quidditch Through the Ages in a box set labeled "From the Library of Hogwarts". I bought this Hogwarts Library set from Amazon.com and had it shipped here because I couldn't find it in a bookstore anywhere here in Manila. Another box set was also released which includes The Tales of Beedle the Bard but I got this other one with only the two books included because I already have a separate copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

This book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them is so fun to read because it's supposed to be a duplicate of Harry Potter's own copy and several pages have writings on them by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It says that it's already on its 52nd edition and this particular one is made available to Muggles with Potter's permission and which the author Mr. Newt Scamander has also agreed to. Twenty percent of the retail sales price less taxes of this book go to Comic Relief's Harry's Books fund to help children in need throughout the world. (This part is true *smile emoticon*)

In the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's in the UK version), Fantastic Beasts is included in the list of required textbooks for first year students at Hogwarts.

The first page looks like an exchange between Ron and Hermione. Typical Ron and Hermione, always bickering.

The contents as shown in this picture:

- About the Author

- Foreword by Albus Dumbledore -- As always, full of wisdom, it shows even on a simple Foreword Great man, Dumbledore. (in Hagrid's voice)

- Introduction by Newt Scamander
  About This Book
  What Is a Beast?
  A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts
  Magical Beasts in Hiding
  Why Magizoology Matters
- Ministry of Magic Classifications
- An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts

The doodles are so funny, a spider chasing a stick drawing which appears to be Ron with a caption "you die Weasley", "Harry loves Moaning Myrtle", and "Chudley Cannons" written by Ron which Harry responded to with "write a decent team in my book for a change Weasley".

This page, About the Author, shows that Newt Scamander was born in 1897 and still lives with his wife in Dorset and their three pet Kneazles. This book was published in 2001 but I haven't heard any news of his passing so I guess he's still alive. Wizards live longer than muggles, don't they?

The Ministry of Magic Classifications page shows how creatures are categorized based on how dangerous they are, with one X for boring to being known wizard killer/impossible to train or domesticate with XXXXX and a note added "or anything Hagrid likes". We all know that Hagrid thinks that dragons, three-headed dogs, and Acrumantulas are harmless and good for pets. Oh, Hagrid!

The classification for Acrumantula is XXXXX as it is known to eat humans and on this page, nine more X's are added, no doubt, by Ron as spiders are his greatest fear and a monstrous one that could eat him is beyond his worst nightmare. Speaking of which, he's probably still having nightmares because of their encounter with Aragog in the Forbidden Forest (from the second book of the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) where he and Harry where almost eaten by Aragog's children.

Still from their experience in the Forbidden Forest with the Acromantulas, the word "unconfirmed" from the line that says "Rumours that a colony of Acromantula has been established in Scotland are unconfirmed." was crossed out and a handwritten "confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley" was added.

A lot more of these clever and cheeky notes are written through out the book which really added to its fun and entertaining tone, so very Harry and Ron.

Some of the creatures here were not even mentioned in the HP series, if I'm not mistaken, so this would be a great read for someone like me who enjoys imagining being a part of the wizarding world. Definitely a must-have for every Harry Potter fan.

So long, Muggles!