Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
Arthur A. Levine Books
List Price: $3.99
ISBN-10: 0439295017
ISBN-13: 9780439295017
64 Pages

Review

Is your garden full of menacing horklumps? Well, you would never know, would you, being a Muggle and all. Horklumps are magical creatures and, as such, hidden away from prying Muggle eyes by The Ministry of Magic.

Until now, that is. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has made Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them available to everyone, wizards, witches and Muggles alike. The book has long been required reading at Hogwarts. All students must take classes in the proper handling of the variety of beasts used in spells or kept as pets. Fantastic Beasts is also kept as a reference book in most wizarding households; families look to it frequently for advice in their daily interactions with magical creatures.

Now even Muggles can be as knowledgeable as Harry Potter and his wizard friends--although no-one will probably ever know as much as Hermione. This book focuses on the 75 most common and best known species of magical creatures. After the name of each beast, The Ministry of Magic's Perceived Dangerousness Classification is given. Some beasts, such as centaurs, are given the highest rating not because they are super aggressive, but because their intelligence means they must be treated with the utmost respect, as equals to humans. Some things to learn from Fantastic Beasts: the difference in appearance amongst types of dragons, the importance of safe hidden habitats and the many ways The Ministry of Magic keeps the existence of the beasts secret from Muggles.

And as for horklumps, don't worry if your garden is full of them. They only eat worms.

-- Reviewed by Adelaide Hayes

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