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jgurniak's review against another edition
5.0
An informative read about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe.
mkartes11's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
beksen's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
llfoofaye's review against another edition
5.0
This book itself is good. Basically a textbook listing all the creatures. Great information for a true Harry Potter fan. The print version has its own perks and I've read that and loved it. This time i listened to the audiobook (read by Newt Scamander himself!), it was wonderful. Loved the little extras and I always love when a book is read/narrated by its author ;)
blakelyschmidt's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A great extension of the original series! Loved reading about the amazing creatures featured in the Harry Potter books.
m00plays's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a nice short book to divulge and fall back into their wizarding world. It wasn't mind blowing but was pretty cute and funny in parts.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
So Warner Brothers (the studio producing the movie) has forced Scholastic (the books' publisher) to pull all copies of the original book in advance of the film. This is baffling to me: what secrets could possibly lurk within its pages that WB would feel the need to have it suppressed?
Reading it (which I actually had never done before) did not answer this question for me. As I'd been already made aware, it does not have a plot -- it's just a brief (for reals, Harry -- or possibly Ron, see below) introduction to the history of the classification of Beasts, and then an alphabetical list of examples. All of which is very charmingly presented: Rowling is, with some recent exceptions (and I do not mean [b:Harry Potter and the Cursed Child|29056083|Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter, #8)|John Tiffany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1470082995s/29056083.jpg|48765776], excellent at world-building. The only thing that strikes me as remotely spoileriffic is the fact that Newt's bio at the end of the book reveals. But that's hardly reason to banish it from the shelves. What is Warner Brothers up to? SOUND THE CONSPIRACY ALARM PLEASE.
Anyway, that weirdness aside, my real complaint with this book is that the cute idea of having Harry, Ron, and Hermione's notes sprinkled through the text is ruined by making all three of them appear to have near-identical handwriting. Maybe I am just the worst handwriting analyst ever (possible) but I found each of their scrawls to be practically indistinguishable. Scholastic couldn't have sprung for different colored inks? Huh -- maybe someone at WB was super offended, and that's why they pulled this book.
Reading it (which I actually had never done before) did not answer this question for me. As I'd been already made aware, it does not have a plot -- it's just a brief (for reals, Harry -- or possibly Ron, see below) introduction to the history of the classification of Beasts, and then an alphabetical list of examples. All of which is very charmingly presented: Rowling is, with some recent exceptions (and I do not mean [b:Harry Potter and the Cursed Child|29056083|Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter, #8)|John Tiffany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1470082995s/29056083.jpg|48765776], excellent at world-building. The only thing that strikes me as remotely spoileriffic is the fact that Newt's bio at the end of the book reveals
Spoiler
who he marriesAnyway, that weirdness aside, my real complaint with this book is that the cute idea of having Harry, Ron, and Hermione's notes sprinkled through the text is ruined by making all three of them appear to have near-identical handwriting. Maybe I am just the worst handwriting analyst ever (possible) but I found each of their scrawls to be practically indistinguishable. Scholastic couldn't have sprung for different colored inks? Huh -- maybe someone at WB was super offended, and that's why they pulled this book.
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
Review for Muggles: This was a fun little read, it was cool when characters and creature we have met in Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts were mentioned.
Review for Wizards: Dear Mr. Newt Scamander while I enjoyed your book I wish it had more photos of the creatures and I wish it had more commentary by you about meeting these creatures and the adventures you have gone on together. Are you considering creating a commentary to go along with the book? You could create a version modeled after the book "Hamilton: The revolution" which contains context and commentary to the text.
Review for Wizards: Dear Mr. Newt Scamander while I enjoyed your book I wish it had more photos of the creatures and I wish it had more commentary by you about meeting these creatures and the adventures you have gone on together. Are you considering creating a commentary to go along with the book? You could create a version modeled after the book "Hamilton: The revolution" which contains context and commentary to the text.