JK Rowling
Biographies On JKRA list of great books about Joanne Rowling!
J. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter
by Marc Shapiro
Review from Booklist "Gr. 5-8. This is a cut-and-paste job with a couple of glaring errors. But at the moment, there are only one or two books available on Rowling, and older kids won't be ashamed to carry around this book (actually published by an adult imprint) because of its paperback format. The fact of the matter is that Rowling's life was not all that interesting until she started writing about Harry: normal upbringing, a graduate of Exeter University, a year in Paris, a string of undistinguished jobs, and a brief marriage, which left her with a daughter. The book must have been in production before the name of the most recent Harry Potter was changed from the Doomspell Tour nament to Goblet of Fire , but the mistake will jump out at readers. There also seem to be missteps in the chronology. Keep this for report writers and Harry lovers until something better comes along, which should be soon." Ilene Cooper
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved
JK Rowling: A Biography
by Sean Smith
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J.K. Rowling: A Biography
by Connie Ann Kirk
"Grade 9 Up-In a preface, Kirk discusses her sources; she obtained every biography in print, watched or read transcripts of every available live or taped interview, and searched the Internet. Data is presented in seven chapters, five appendixes, and a bibliography that sorts resources into several sections. Although there is information about the author herself, the majority of the content is devoted to analyzing her writing. Chapter one likens Rowling to Harry Potter in that they both went from rags to riches. Her work is compared to a number of genres and series in both children's and adult literature. Throughout, Kirk follows up facts with speculations as to their meaning or significance and/or possible outcomes that may occur. For example, after describing Hermione in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Kirk says, "Only time will tell if any similarities to Shakespeare's Hermione will pop up for her namesake in the Harry Potter novels." One chapter compares Rowling's books to other fantasy novels and discusses the banning of her books for endorsing witchcraft, the occult, and/or devil worship. The scholarly writing style and evaluative content make this volume useful to high school students studying Rowling and her work." Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Conversations with J.K. Rowling by Lindsay Fraser
Amazon.com review "If you're a Harry Potter fan who knows more about J.K. Rowling than you know about most of your own family, then you won't find much new in this slim, large-type book. But younger kids (and Muggle grownups hoping for some insight into the world of Harry Potter) will learn quite a bit about this phenomenally successful series and its unassuming author. Divided into roughly three sections, Conversations with J.K. Rowling begins with some fairly general questions about the author's early childhood ("Did you have any pets?"), school days ("Did you watch much television as a child?"), and career ("Can you describe the process of creating the stories?"). The book then follows with an excerpt-assisted overview of the first four Harry Potter adventures (again, great for Muggles), and ends with a smattering of quotes from Rowling's interviews with Larry King, Newsweek, Oprah Winfrey's O magazine, and Entertainment Weekly. Kids will get a kick out of many of the anecdotes (Rowling can't remember her little sister's birth, just eating the Play-Doh that she was given that day to distract her), while older readers should enjoy more sophisticated insights into her books (like how she decided to write full-time when she still had a daughter to support). Certainly a light (and quick) read, but fun for what it is. (Ages 9 to 12)" --Paul Hughes
J. K. Rowling (Just the Facts Biographies) by Colleen Sexton
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J.K. Rowling (Blue Banner Biographies) by Ann Gaines
"Grade 3-6-These series titles are offered as "non-fictionalized stories that present the lives of contemporary, multicultural role models." The font size, ample white space, and vocabulary make them appropriate for transitional and reluctant readers. After introductory chapters about each author's popularity, information is presented in brief, chronological chapters. The material in Rowling is presented in an even manner but the text in Sendak is sometimes choppy and confusing. Additionally, there is some misinformation. (The first line of the book states that Where the Wild Things Are was Sendak's first picture book. It wasn't.) There are too many inaccuracies in this book to recommend purchase. Margin notes clue readers in to what can be found in the texts, but not all correspond to information found on the same page. Each book contains quotes, but the sources are not noted. Average-quality, black-and-white captioned photographs are scattered throughout each volume. Sendak has a list of his selected works, but neither title has a list for further reading. Libraries owning S. Ward's Meet J. K. Rowling (Rosen, 2001) will not need Gaines's title; stick with the collective biographies you already have to supply information on Sendak."Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Meet J.K. Rowling by S. Ward
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