World Book Day: Celebrating the Books in “Harry Potter”

by · March 3, 2016

Today is World Book Day, a day that every Harry Potter fanatic should have reason to celebrate. Why, if it weren’t for books, what would we be doing right now? I can tell you with 100% certainty you would not be sitting here reading the ramblings of a crazed Potterhead. MuggleNet would have never existed! What a dismal life, indeed! Personally, I would never have met my darling husband and would be short two children. Believe me when I say that I am quite fanatical when it comes to the importance of books in our lives since mine would be nothing like it is today without them.

In honor of this most holy day for bookworms across the globe, I wanted to shine a little spotlight on a few of the literary and academic texts found within the world of Harry Potter. No, not the hallowed heptalogy that is Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, etc. I mean the books Harry, Ron, and Hermione (Well, mostly Hermione.) invested most of their young lives in.
The_Monster_Book

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Monster Book of Monsters

Fantastic Beasts is one of two in-world texts that JKR has blessed us Muggles with. While it barely gets any shine time within the series, Warner Bros. has rectified this by giving us a whole new film based on the Care of Magical Creatures text. Only eight months, two weeks, and one day to go! The Monster Book of Monsters, on the other hand, gnawed its way into our hearts early on. Out of all the other books in the series, this was the only one with so much character that it was a character unto itself. I don’t know about you, but I sort of wanted to keep one as a pet. It was kind of cute!

 

Tale of the Three Brothers

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Possibly one of the most important books the trio read in the series, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was bequeathed to Hermione after Dumbledore’s demise. Within this notable children’s book was the story of “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” which gave us insight into the Deathly Hallows. Luckily for us, this is yet another book gifted to the Muggle world. I read it to my kids every night before bed. You know, just in case a half-giant knocks down my door in April to collect my son.

 

lucius breaks prophecy

Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul

Harry noticed this little gem hidden away at Flourish and Blotts when he was shopping in his third year. While it only made one giggle-worthy appearance, I can’t help but think that had Trelawny added this to the required reading, the students would have found Divination just a touch less dull. Of course, I would have had to stop giggling for five minutes to read anything inside it.

 

hermione reading

Sonnets of a Sorcerer

Another fun little Easter egg Rowling stuck into the books for our—and likely her own—entertainment. This was a cursed book mentioned in Chamber of Secrets that would force anyone who read it to speak in limericks for eternity. A funny prank for your friends, perhaps, but definitely not something you want to skim through prior to purchase.

 

Property_of_the_Half-Blood_Prince

Advanced Potion-Making (Half-Blood Prince edition)

This NEWT-level Potions text was already quite formidable on its own, but thanks to this particular edition with the footnotes and tips from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince, the potions and other tidbits went from harmless to notorious in no time. While it could be assessed that, without its existence, Harry and Albus would have never managed to acquire a very important memory from Slughorn, we must remember that it also was responsible for a slashed-up and heavily bleeding student in the boys’ lavatory. With great power comes great irresponsibility in this case.

 

gellert dumbledore

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

This was, without a doubt, one of the most infuriating works within the wizarding world. While it created quite the controversy, this soul-crushing biography of our beloved Headmaster did shine some light on his mysterious past. However, to be completely honest, I would rather have been ignorant of the life before the child-like spunk and twinkling eyes of Hogwarts’s greatest Headmaster.

 

Notable Mentions:

  • Charm Your Own Cheese
  • Invisible Book of Invisibility
  • Men Who Love Dragons Too Much
  • My Life as a Muggle
  • Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches
  • Hélas, Je me suis Transfiguré mes Pieds (Alas, I Have Transfigured My Feet)

What books are you celebrating on World Book Day? Do you have some to recommend? Tell us in the comments below!