Exploring Harry Potter

by Elizabeth D. Schafer

Exploring Harry Potter, Beachams Sourcebooks

Genres: Harry Potter, Nonfiction, Reference, Literary Criticism, Magic, Childrens, Literature

Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Ih8JaneAusten · Rating 1 out of 5]

You would think a sourcebook for teaching would actually have its facts straight. Not this book. It credits lines to characters that never said them, great research.

[Irene]

If you're looking to read a book that analyzes aspects of the Harry Potter series, I would stay clear of this one. On the surface the book looks well-organized with chapters on characters, settings, mythology, archetypes and other literary devices that I enjoy reading about. This sourcebook was published in 2000 just as Goblet of Fire was released, so it really only covers books 1-3. The interesting pieces of information found in this book are covered much more thoroughly in the Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter, a series of books that I loved to delve into. This sourcebook has too many errors to count. From simple errors like misspelling Crabbe as "Crabb" to irritating errors like stating that Voldemort was raised by Muggle foster parents. Then there are the errors that have nothing to do with Harry Potter like her statement that Jane Austen wrote Jane Eyre. That's such an obvious error that it makes me think that many of her observations, particularly those dealing with history, could also have factual errors. And if that's the case, there's no point in reading this book.

[Wendy E. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I said it best when I rated this book for Amazon:
I see now why I found this book at a thrift store. Utter crap. The author summarizes the books but even that is poorly written. My daughter and I are intense fans of this series having read the books and seen the movies multiple times and I can tell you there were so many mistakes in this book. Things like when the author describes that the students in the wizarding world wear typical teen attire (jeans, tshirts and tennis shoes) under their robes....no they don't. They wear a school uniform. Then the author tried to compare each character to corresponding characters/Gods from mythology. She says that Hagrid can be compared to Poseidon for his command of water. WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?? Hagrid didn't have a command of water. Many of the assumptions in this book are downright wrong. If you have it and you have a fireplace, toss it in the fire to warm your toes while you read the real thing.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book for me. I liked the Harry Potter series very much and was interested to see what somebody could write about these novels. I found it to be a good research job and one that keeps your interest in learning about Harry Potter.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the'Isms'"

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much symbolism in this book. It shows reasons why JK Rowling chose the words she uses, the names of places and people. There's so much info in this awesome little book. I would not be willing to give this up...ever.

[Jaime · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly researched, shoddily executed. Rather embarrassing.

[Jennifer Braxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on the discount book rack, but I barely made it partway into the book. Meh.

[Jodi Galland · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best chapter in this book is the short one speculating what may happen to Harry after Prisoner of Azkaban. It's comedy gold. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course we all know how it ends, but this is so out there, I just love it.

Some of these gems:
Schafer muses that perhaps there will be no Mid-life Crisis Harry or Wizened Old Wizard Harry because he will "...die young like his parents, BECOME A MUGGLE (my emphasis added), or disappear into secluded obscurity..." Wizards don't "become" Muggles. They may choose to live like one, but they can't just say, "I choose to BE a Muggle."

A possible plot for a future book 8 might be a "prequel" to Harry's adult life. Ummm... the ENTIRE series is a prequel to his adult life! I swear this chapter had me rolling!

"The Dursleys may no longer enjoy prosperity, and Dudley may have to adjust and cope with less luxurious circumstances." The Dursleys are so positively VANILLA, thankyouverymuch, that they are probably middle-class. There is nothing about them that says "lavish" except that they spoil Duddykins.

"...Scabbers will return." NO! Freaking Peter Pettigrew will return. I need an eyeroll emoji for everyone of these absurdities.

"An older character will learn to perform magic without benefit of childhood training or Hogwarts curriculum." I'm curious who she means. Filch? A squib. Mr Dursley? A muggle... Who?

AND OMG! This whole paragraph tells me the author has zero idea what has happened in the first three books, let alone what "might happen" next. Emphasis added...
"Harry will fulfill his destiny of AVENGING HIS PARENTS' MURDER and become an adult wizard. Free from MOST Ministry of Magic restrictions designed to protect underage wizards and people near them, Harry can autonomously perform magic wherever he chooses. The Dursleys, particularly Dudley, will no longer be protected by HOGWARTS' rules prohibiting magic off campus and Rowling warns that Dudley should expect some sort of magical retribution from Harry to avenge the years he endured Dudley's tormenting assaults..." Avenge? Retribution? These are not words I associate with HP at all. Avenging his parents' murders is the least of the things Harry achieves when he destroys Voldy. The rest of it tells me how little she understands the wizarding world. When Harry becomes an adult, all underage restrictions are lifted. And it isn't Hogwarts' rules, but all ministry related.

She also things the Dursleys may be financially or socially connected to Voldy and the death eaters and they might even be involved in Harry's parents' deaths and they feel so much guilt, they treat Harry like crap.

He might have a long lost twin who has been secretly watching over him. No wonder fan fic started all these crazy plots.

Lest people think I only read that chapter, here are some more reasons to avoid.

First, it’s full of basic inaccuracies about the books. It associates Hagrid with Poseidon because he has control over water, explains that Muggle means “dull, boring people” and uses “mortal” as a synonym for Muggle. She claims at one point, Harry learns at Hogwarts that anyone can wield magic with the proper training.
Second, she seriously misunderstands Harry’s quest, repeatedly referring to it as avenging his parents’ deaths. No mention of good vs evil or anything.
Third, I’ve taken both of Angelina Stanford’s HP classes and listened to the literary life podcast episodes on HP and while the author brings up meanings of colors and numbers and mythology, she isn’t making good connections, if she makes any at all. For instance, she brings up red and says it stands for royalty, then lists several red things in the book which have little or no connection to royalty or each other and doesn’t explain the connection she apparently sees. And she missed the red items she actually could make a point with the color.
Finally, she uses Freudian thought several times, saying “Ron’s bent wand” in book two indicates his impotence (inability to properly use magic). That’s just a small sampling. I read the entire book and was laughing, gasping with shock, and complaining loudly throughout.
So glad I could get that off my chest! 🤣

I just can't even, people. This book is ridiculous in many other ways as well, but I had to share her musings on future books and how those thoughts show she has zero clue about the characters she is trying to educate you about.

[Daniel Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for Harry Potter lovers! Before I got this book, I noticed Stephen King mentioned it, which is on the back of the book. This book has everything to do with Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling's story, creating Harry Potter, what Mythology's are in the books, Harry Potter and the Bible connection, Fan Following, Quizzes from the books and more! I Really recommend this book to Potterheads!!

[Emma Kolditz Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5. Read for university project on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have started this book twice and read to about halfway through and just can't make it the rest of the way because it is so boring. It is not written well. The information, which should be interesting, is presented in such a way as to make you dread even opening up the book. I had it on my nightstand and didn't read for several nights because I couldn't bring myself to open it up again. I finally moved it and put another book there and felt great relief. There are only two books I have ever not finished...and this is one of them...and I have tried twice. Bleh!

[Heather Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I got it years ago after perhaps the first three novels had come out and much of the information was wasted on me at the time. Now, as a teacher and scholar, I have come to appreciate the easy flow, layout, and organization of this book. The information is definitely useful, delving into such topics as character names, Hogwarts history, Harry's history combined with the history of magic in general, including a teacher's guide. This is a great book for anyone who likes Harry Potter and wants to know a bit more, or for anyone teaching one of the first three novels.

[Archie Lewallen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible researched and painful to read. The book was grasping for straws on its comparisons to other literatures. The chapter on greek mythology specifically was out of place and made no sense. It listed several Greek Gods but failed to actually find similarities to Harry Potter. The book also covered only books 1-3 so a lot of the book is speculation on how the series will end. The author also appears to need an entire page of $15 words ignored to make a statement that could have easily been summarized in 1 sentence. Basically this book is utter crap.

[Aurora Batty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided it might be interesting to read therefore I checked out out of my local library. There is plenty of theories and breakdown of characters and character relations. There is a section as a biography to JK Rowling. I skipped that section all together and pretty much read the highlights and skimmed the rest. It is after all a textbook of sorts and it was writes as dryly as a textbook. In short it was slightly interesting but pretty boring. Also it only encompasses through tbr first three books and mentions the fourth soon to be released therefore the information wad outdated.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this as a sourcebook for a World Literature paper that touched upon Rowling's use of mythology within Harry Potter. Was pretty useful, but for a sourcebook it seemed a bit informal or even uncertain at times.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book as a reference for an essay I did on Harry Potter in college. Some aspects of the book were interesting, but I came up with more ideas on my own just re-reading the books.

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit loopy but all in all a good read

[Mark Trenier · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was really a poor example of how to write a sourcebook. The questions are mostly at a basic level and any teacher with half an ounce of inspiration could come up with better activities.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a sourcebook it sure does have a lot of wrong information, mispellings, and added unnecessary thoughts flying around