From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular Harry Potter books. After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and started writing the series of seven books and the first was published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK in 1997. The series took another ten years to complete, concluding in 2007 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity, Quidditch Through the Agesand Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. She also collaborated on the writing of a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was published as a script book.
Her other books for children include the fairy tale The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig, which were published in 2020 and 2021 respectively and have also been bestsellers. She is also the author of books for adults, including a bestselling crime fiction series.
J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing. She also supports a number of causes through her charitable trust Volant and is the founder of the children’s charity Lumos.
To find out more about J.K. Rowling visit jkrowlingstories.com.
Jim Kay won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for his illustrations in A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Jim studied illustration at the University of Westminster and since graduating has worked in the archives of Tate Britain and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Jim has produced concept work for television and contributed to a group exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He now lives and works in Northamptonshire, England, with his wife.
Neil Packer is best known for his stunning illustrated editions of The Iliad and The Odyssey, and has created artwork for many classic titles for the Folio Society. His most recent project, One of a Kind, won the BolognaRagazzi Award for nonfiction in 2021. He lives in London with his son.
My Favorite Things –
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Well worth the wait. The first few books were released each year, but the latest have taken longer to get published. With good reason as they are lengthier books, and the illustrator also took longer to complete due to mental health illness. Sadly, this will be the last Harry Potter book Jim Kay illustrates. He says: “I have been struggling with mental health illness for some time, and it would be wrong to try and continue when I can no longer give the fans and the series the full commitment and energy it deserves.”So many of the reviews here complain about having fewer illustrated pages. This isn’t a children’s picture book to expect every single page to have illustrations. I praise each painting that is included, even if it might feel like fewer due to the size of this book. They are skillful paintings lovingly created by an expert in his craft. Even if hypothetically there were no paintings at all, the quality of the pages and overall book are well worth the price of any hardback.The Order of the Phoenix has much more detail, and the use of color has been more methodically planned. While there are some bright pictures, there isn’t often something happy occurring. Bright sunsets set almost an even broodier tone with the characters being deep in contemplation in contrast to the bright scene. Masterfully done evoking so much feeling. I feel Jim Kay’s mental health may have played a part in the feeling the paintings bring up. You can feel the anguish and sorrow in many of these. The contributing illustrator, Neil Packer, did about a quarter of the illustrations, which are very cool. Neil’s are more of a layout than painting a scene, but extremely detailed.The pages themselves (even those without illustrations) take on the color tone of what the chapter is about. For example, the pages for chapters taking place in a forest are green, those with Umbridge are often pink, those with Death Eaters transition from black, dark green, purple and red. Excellent use of color throughout to set the mood.And what a mood and tone the story has! The heroes preparing themselves for what they know will come, but no one coming out of it unscathed. Good can win, but it comes at a cost.There are new characters who make things far more difficult for our young heroes than one would imagine. I always felt Umbridge was such a villain and couldn’t place why her character irked me more than some of the other more murderous villains. But I think it’s because she is someone we can identify in our lives who we might have met. The teacher who treated us unfairly for no reason, or the unreasonable person who criticizes every good thing we think we’ve accomplished. While characters like Voldemort and Lestrange are the evil we wish never to have to confront, Umbridge is the evil we face in real life.I would definitely not recommend this for children. Not just because of the length and thematic material, but some illustrations are purposely frightful. Which I imagine we can continue to expect as the stories get darker. Not a bad thing, but just know the stories progressively get scarier and despondent.Overall, a fantastic buy that I’m happy to have with the other Illustrated versions. I am sad Jim Kay will no longer be illustrating the remaining two books, but that makes this installment all the more special. Thank you, Jim Kay, for sharing these beautiful treasures with us and our hearts.Beware Amazon packing isn’t always the best. They’ll put it in a box often with no padding. My copy of the book came in excellent condition, but the box it arrived in was in bad shape.
ItsMe –
The fifth illustrated edition of Harry Potter has finally arrived after a long 3 year wait. I have definitely been looking forward to this edition as this is the longest book in the series and happens to be my favorite. In this book so many characters “step up” showing their talent and prowess alongside Harry not to mention the development of more maturity in the characters as they face increasingly higher stakes in the magical world. Perhaps most of all I was looking forward to Jim Kay’s illustration of the incredibly well written and despicable Dolores Umbridge. The illustrated editions are always great because you get to see illustrations of the characters and beasts drawn exactly as they were written. Jim Kay again does an exceptional job capturing those descriptions in illustrated form as all illustrated pages are something to look forward to as you read through the book. They are vibrant and depict the scenes brilliantly.That being said I have to be honest and say I still miss more of the pages with background illustrations and theming illustrations we saw in the first 3 books. I know the books are getting longer so that may be more difficult but I admit I was hoping with the additional time for this edition it would have more. It does have some as you can see in the attached images which are great. I am not asking for every page or chapter but perhaps those earlier books spoiled me and with how much I enjoyed background theme images. I always enjoy the illustrated pages but the theme / background image pages are great bridges that set the mood before the next big fully illustrated page. Again though the pages that are fully illustrated are truly captivating and it’s worthwhile to take your time looking at those so you don’t miss some of the incredibly well done small details.That being said this is a beautiful edition perfect for Harry Potter fans and really great for kids enjoying the Harry Potter world. I found that even older kids who previously read the books love seeing the illustrations and how the characters are depicted. The books continue to take on the darker tone that began back in book 3 as many who would be looking at reviews of this book probably know. It depends on your family and child but compared to a book series like Lemony Snicket’s these are nowhere near as “dark”. If you are a parent and have not read the books I would say read it (because they are great for adults also) first to see whether or not you think your child is ready but generally children 10 and up seem to handle the books well. A great purchase that everyone will enjoy!
Debbie Andrys –
The drawings are well done. An easy read to keeping kids attention
Paige –
Item arrived damaged, able to return and receive and undamaged item! Pages were folded and crumpled in. Awesome book!
Eva –
I love these books and the illustrations are amazing
Cyndi Rains –
I just love how thse have been illustrated. Good quality
Jordan & Jacob Byorth –
Illustrations are amazing! Great binding.
RAMIL E PREIKSAITIS –
The book is well illustrated and written. I wanted the illustrated version for child readers.
amethyst52 –
I have been giving my great nephew Harry Potter books since he was about 6. I’m the “book Aunty.” He is almost 11 and to begin with his dad was reading them to him. He is now reading them himself! I have long been a Harry Potter fan and own all the books. When I don’t have anything to read between library visits I will pull one of the books from my shelf and re-read them. I always learn something new. He was really sad when he heard that Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) had passed. It’s nice having a face to put to a character in books you really love!
susan –
Great Harry Potter gift