Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 20th Anniversary House Editions
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
Published: 13th June 2019
Format: Paperback
Pages: 468
Price: Hardback – $27.99 Paperback – $16.99
Synopsis:Let the magic of J.K. Rowling’s classic Harry Potter series take you back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Issued to mark the 20th anniversary of first publication of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this irresistible Ravenclaw House Edition celebrates the noble character of the Hogwarts house famed for its wit, learning and wisdom. Harry’s third year at Hogwarts is packed with thrilling Ravenclaw moments, including the appearance of the inimitable Professor Trelawney!
With vibrant sprayed edges in Ravenclaw house livery, the book features beautiful house-themed cover artwork with intricate bronze foiling. With an exciting, bespoke introduction exploring the history of Ravenclaw House, and exclusive insights into the use of the Patronus Charm by favourite Ravenclaw characters, the book also boasts a spectacular image by Kate Greenaway winner Levi Pinfold of Cho Chang conjuring her Patronus. All seven books in the series will be issued in these highly collectable, beautifully crafted House Editions, designed to be treasured and read for years to come.
A must-have for anyone who has ever imagined sitting under the Sorting Hat in the Great Hall at Hogwarts waiting to hear the words, ‘Better be RAVENCLAW!’
Gryffindor: Harry’s third year at Hogwarts sees more great Gryffindor moments and characters – including Harry’s mastery of that most advanced of charms, the Patronus – not to mention four of the most memorable alumni, Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.
Hufflepuff: Harry’s third year at Hogwarts sees more great Hufflepuff moments and characters, not least their Quidditch team’s triumph over under their captain – and Hufflepuff heart-throb – Cedric Diggory.
Ravenclaw: Harry’s third year sees more great Ravenclaw moments and characters -not least Harry’s first highly perfumed lesson with the inimitable Professor Trelawney, who – true to her house – proves to have exceptional mental powers.
Slytherin: Harry’s third year sees more great Slytherin moments and characters – including Professor Snape’s masterful potion-making, and Draco Malfoy’s typically sneaky attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker.
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Each year for the past three years, Bloomsbury had released house editions for each of the first three novels in the much-loved Harry Potter series. This year, 2019, marks twenty years since the third, and my favourite novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanwas published in 1999. In his third year, Harry returns to Hogwarts after notorious mass murderer, Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban. The entire wizarding world has believed that Sirius murdered twelve Muggles and fellow wizard, Peter Pettigrew not long after Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter and failed to kill Harry. But there is more to Sirius’ story than everyone thinks they know.
Throughout the year, Hogwarts hosts the Dementors from Azkaban – guards you drain the happiness out of everything and can only be expelled with the use of the very advanced Patronus charm. Finally, in this novel, Harry has a decent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Professor Remus Lupin – who knows to distribute chocolate after a Dementor attack and teaches his students more than they have learned with their previous teachers, especially Gilderoy Lockhart. Lupin’s presence and the arrival of Sirius are perhaps why this is my favourite – they provide a link to Harry’s parents and early life in the wizarding world he never thought he had or would ever have.
It is also where the story begins to get darker, and has a sinister feel creeping in, that starts to lead into what is to come in books four to seven to conclude the series. As Harry gets older, each book gets longer and darker – and the rest of the house editions will be released on dates to be announced.
In the house editions for the third book, the house content for the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, revolves around key moments and characters linked to the story, as per the above descriptions, and look at the Patronus’s for four key characters: an otter for Hermione Granger, the wolf for Nymphadora Tonks, a swan for Cho Chang and the doe for Snape. These are attached to an overview of the Patronus Charm. The House Specific content in each book adds to the story and gives more insight into the Wizarding World and the characters who populate it. It makes for a rich reading experience for new and old readers of the series.
I am enjoying collecting these house editions, particularly the Ravenclaw ones, and am looking forward to seeing how Ravenclaw house is explored in future books.
Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Illustrated Edition)
As part of the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter last year, JK Rowling re-released a special edition of Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Previously published in several different editions for Wizards and Muggles separately, this illustrated version is an exquisite addition to any Harry Potter library. Several new creatures have been added, such as the Thunderbird, the Wampus Cat and various other creatures found during Newt’s travels across the world when he first wrote the book, giving a larger scope to the wizarding world. Within these covers, there are new introductory notes from Newt by way of JK Rowling, discussing the differences in attitudes to magical creatures and wizards in different places. Each creature has a specific description and Ministry of Magic Classification, ranging from not so dangerous to extremely dangerous, as shown below.
Title: Harry Potter: A Journey Through The History of Magic
Title: Harry Potter: A History of Magic
reads of a mystery and plot that traverses seven books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a great book for confident readers aged nine and older, including adults.
Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Hogwarts textbook that inspired the movie of the same name, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has been res-issued, with the addition of six beasts that Newt discovered during the course of the movie. Writing as Newt Scamander, JK Rowling brings the magical creatures of the wizarding world to life. From the treasure seeking Niffler to the water horses and kelpies, to the breeds of dragon that populate the world, and the American Creatures that Newt was forbidden from revealing after his 1926 visit to New York, including the Thunderbird, Horned Serpent and Wampus Cat, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them brings to life a new facet of the world of Harry Potter.
Since 2015, one of my favourite series has had illustrated editions released for each book, and this year not only marks the twentieth anniversary, already discussed in a previous post, but a
new addition to the already released illustrated editions:
illustrated editions, Jim Kay has illustrated the story, and brought iconic aspects of the novel, such as the Knight Bus, seen here on the cover, to life. This hardback edition will have a ribbon marker, head and tail bands, illustrated end papers, and has over 115 colour images. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite of the series, and I can’t wait to see the illustrations to accompany the Dementors and the Boggart scenes.
On the 26th of June, 2017, it will have been twenty years since the 
first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published. Like all good ideas, Harry Potter started as a seedling idea on a train journey, and soon became a worldwide sensation and phenomenon – selling 450 million copies worldwide, and being translated into 79 languages.
To mark the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury is reissuing special twentieth anniversary editions in the house colours in both paperback and hard cover. Levi Pinfold has illustrated the crests for each house, and on the black hardcovers, the crests are in the respective house colours: red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw and green for Slytherin, with striped page edges. In the paperbacks, the covers and edges of the paper are in the house colours, with the crests in black. 
ristics of the houses. These designs were created by Levi Pinfold, a Kate Greenaway Medal winner, and will also contain three illustrations within the books, to go with the additional information about the houses. These editions will be published at the beginning of June, and cost $16.99 for the paperback, and $27.99 for the hardcover in Australia.
Harry Potter is a story that has inspired many children to read since it was released in 1997, and continues to
do so, forming a large part of childhood for many. It continues to gather fans and older fans pass their love onto others, sharing the magic of Harry, Ron and Hermione for years to come. These twentieth anniversary editions will be a great addition to any shelf.
Alongside these new covers, Bloomsbury will be marking the celebration with various events, and competitions.