Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Encyclopedia
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling
about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe
. It purports to be Harry Potter
's copy of the textbook of the same name mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
, the first novel of the Harry Potter
series.
In a 2001 interview with publisher Scholastic
, Rowling stated that she chose the subject of magical creatures
because it was a fun topic for which she had already developed a lot of information in earlier books. Rowling's name does not appear on the cover of the book, the work being credited under the pseudonym "Newt Scamander".
The book benefits the charity Comic Relief. Over 80% of the cover price of each book sold goes directly to poor children in various places around the world. According to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages
have raised over £17 million.
and written by magizoologist Newt Scamander, a fictional character in the Harry Potter
series. In the series, Magizoology is the study of magical creatures.
Albus Dumbledore
, headmaster of Hogwarts
, provides the Foreword and explains the purpose of the special edition of this book (the Comic Relief charity). At the end, he tells the reader, "...The amusing creatures described hereafter are fictional and cannot hurt you." He repeats the Hogwarts motto: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus", Latin
for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them contains the history of Magizoology and describes 75 magical species found around the world. Scamander says that he collected most of the information found in the book through observations made over years of travel and across five continents. He notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its 52nd edition.
In the Harry Potter universe
, the book is a required textbook for first-year Hogwarts
students, having been an approved textbook since its first publication. It is not clear why students need it in their first year, as students do not take Care of Magical Creatures until their third year. However, it may be used as an encyclopaedia of Dark creatures studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. In his foreword to the book, Albus Dumbledore
notes that it serves as an excellent reference for Wizarding households in addition to its use at Hogwarts
.
The book features fictional doodles and comments in it by Harry
, Ron
and Hermione
. The comments would appear to have been written around the time of the fourth book
. These doodles add some extra information for fans of the series; for example the "Acromantula" entry has a comment confirming that Hogwarts
is located in Scotland
.
Integrated in the design, the cover of the book appears to have been clawed by some sort of animal.
Foreword by Albus Dumbledore
Introduction by Newt Scamander
About This Book
What Is a Beast?
A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts
Magical Beasts in Hiding
Why Magizoology Matters
Ministry of Magic Classifications
An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts
breeder. In Hogwarts
, he was a Hufflepuff.
After graduating from Hogwarts
, Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic
in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His career included a brief stint in the Office of House-Elf Relocation, a transfer to the Beast Division, the creation of the Werewolf Register in 1947, the 1965 passage of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, and many research trips for the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau. His contributions to Magizoology earned him an Order of Merlin, Second Class in 1979.
Now retired, he lives in Dorset
with his wife Porpentina and their pet Kneazles: Hoppy, Milly and Mauler. He has a grandson named Rolf, who married Luna Lovegood some time after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Although Rowling has never hidden the fact that she is the author of Fantastic Beasts, "Newt Scamander" can nevertheless be considered a pseudonym of hers, as he is technically the author listed on the book's cover.
In the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Newt Scamander's name appeared on the Marauder's Map. Why he was at Hogwarts was not addressed, but there might have been a Hogwarts student who shared his name.
Bloomsbury Edition
Sagebrush Rebound Edition
In the UK the Bloomsbury edition ISBN is 9781408803011
The book does not have entries for Blast-Ended Skrewts (which makes sense, as they are an illegal crossbreed), Boggarts, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Dementors, Hinkypunks, Bicorns, Boomslangs, Cockatrices, Banshees, Three-Headed Dogs or Blood-Sucking Bugbears.
graded the book with an "A" and wrote, "With its richly detailed history lessons and witty debate parsing the differences between being and beast, plus a compendium of 85 magical creatures that's chockablock with Rowling's trademark wordplay (Glumbumble is a standout), Beasts adds a vital new dimension to the Potter mythology."
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe
Harry Potter universe
The fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
. It purports to be Harry Potter
Harry Potter (character)
Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard...
's copy of the textbook of the same name mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling and featuring Harry Potter, a young wizard...
, the first novel of the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series.
In a 2001 interview with publisher Scholastic
Scholastic Press
Scholastic is a global book publishing company known for publishing educational materials for schools, teachers, and parents, and selling and distributing them by mail order and via book clubs and book fairs. It also has the exclusive United States' publishing rights to the Harry Potter book...
, Rowling stated that she chose the subject of magical creatures
Magical beasts (Harry Potter)
Magical creatures comprise a colourful and integral aspect of the fictional wizarding world in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Throughout the seven books of the series, Harry and his friends come across many of these creatures on their adventures, as well as in the Care of Magical...
because it was a fun topic for which she had already developed a lot of information in earlier books. Rowling's name does not appear on the cover of the book, the work being credited under the pseudonym "Newt Scamander".
The book benefits the charity Comic Relief. Over 80% of the cover price of each book sold goes directly to poor children in various places around the world. According to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
have raised over £17 million.
Synopsis
Fantastic Beasts purports to be a reproduction of a textbook owned by Harry PotterHarry Potter (character)
Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard...
and written by magizoologist Newt Scamander, a fictional character in the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series. In the series, Magizoology is the study of magical creatures.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a major character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts...
, headmaster of Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
, provides the Foreword and explains the purpose of the special edition of this book (the Comic Relief charity). At the end, he tells the reader, "...The amusing creatures described hereafter are fictional and cannot hurt you." He repeats the Hogwarts motto: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus", Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them contains the history of Magizoology and describes 75 magical species found around the world. Scamander says that he collected most of the information found in the book through observations made over years of travel and across five continents. He notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its 52nd edition.
In the Harry Potter universe
Harry Potter universe
The fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
, the book is a required textbook for first-year Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
students, having been an approved textbook since its first publication. It is not clear why students need it in their first year, as students do not take Care of Magical Creatures until their third year. However, it may be used as an encyclopaedia of Dark creatures studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. In his foreword to the book, Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a major character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts...
notes that it serves as an excellent reference for Wizarding households in addition to its use at Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
.
The book features fictional doodles and comments in it by Harry
Harry Potter (character)
Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard...
, Ron
Ron Weasley
Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. His first appearance was in the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger...
and Hermione
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She initially appears in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as a new student on her way to Hogwarts...
. The comments would appear to have been written around the time of the fourth book
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on 8 July 2000.The novel won a Hugo Award in 2001, the only Harry Potter novel to do so...
. These doodles add some extra information for fans of the series; for example the "Acromantula" entry has a comment confirming that Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
is located in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Integrated in the design, the cover of the book appears to have been clawed by some sort of animal.
Contents
About the AuthorForeword by Albus Dumbledore
Introduction by Newt Scamander
About This Book
What Is a Beast?
A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts
Magical Beasts in Hiding
Why Magizoology Matters
Ministry of Magic Classifications
An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts
Newt Scamander
Newton "Newt" Artemis Fido Scamander is the fictional author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, born in 1897. According to the "About the Author" section of the book, Scamander became a magizoologist because of his own interest in fabulous beasts and the encouragement of his mother, an enthusiastic HippogriffHippogriff
A Hippogriff is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.- Early references :...
breeder. In Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
, he was a Hufflepuff.
After graduating from Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
, Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic
Ministry of Magic
The Ministry of Magic is the government of the fictional Magical community of Britain in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. First mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Ministry makes its first proper appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...
in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His career included a brief stint in the Office of House-Elf Relocation, a transfer to the Beast Division, the creation of the Werewolf Register in 1947, the 1965 passage of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, and many research trips for the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau. His contributions to Magizoology earned him an Order of Merlin, Second Class in 1979.
Now retired, he lives in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
with his wife Porpentina and their pet Kneazles: Hoppy, Milly and Mauler. He has a grandson named Rolf, who married Luna Lovegood some time after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Although Rowling has never hidden the fact that she is the author of Fantastic Beasts, "Newt Scamander" can nevertheless be considered a pseudonym of hers, as he is technically the author listed on the book's cover.
In the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Newt Scamander's name appeared on the Marauder's Map. Why he was at Hogwarts was not addressed, but there might have been a Hogwarts student who shared his name.
Editions
Scholastic Editions- Paperback: ISBN 0-439-29501-7
- Hardcover Box Set: ISBN 0-439-32162-X (Includes Fantastic Beasts... and Quidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
) - Paperback Box Set: ISBN 0-439-28403-1
Bloomsbury Edition
- Paperback: ISBN 0-7475-5466-8
Sagebrush Rebound Edition
- School & Library Edition: ISBN 0-613-32541-9
In the UK the Bloomsbury edition ISBN is 9781408803011
"New information"
The book is said to predate the events of the Harry Potter series. In light of events in the Potter books, several tongue-in-cheek references to "new information" are indicated by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's doodles in Harry's version of the book (as published for Comic Relief). A list of them follows:- The question 'What is a Beast?' (serving as the title of the section) is answered 'a big hairy thing with too many legs'.
- In the Ministry Classifications, the most dangerous creatures are labelled as XXXXX, to which has been added "or anything Hagrid likes".
- On Pg. 2 under the Acromantula section, the book states "Rumours that a colony of Acromantula has been established in Scotland are unconfirmed." In fact, Harry and Ron encounter a colony in the Forbidden Forest in the second book. Hagrid was aware of this Acromantula colony before this, and it is quite likely that other members of the staff knew of its existence. In Harry's version of the book, the word "unconfirmed" is crossed out and the following comment of "confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley" is added.
- Also under the Acromantula section, an extra 9 X's are added to the creature's classification, probably by Ron, since it is well known that he is afraid of spiders, and the Acromantula is a gigantic, man-eating spider.
- On Pg. 4 under the Basilisk section, the book states "there have been no recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain for at least four hundred years". This is invalid, as there is a recorded sighting in the second Harry Potter book. As such, a comment of "that's what you think" has been appended to the bottom of the entry.
- In the Dragons section, the name "Norwegian Ridgeback" is crossed out and replaced with "Baby Norbert", referring to Hagrid's infant dragon which he hatched himself and showed to the trio. Nearby, under the entry for "Hungarian Horntail", the article begins "Supposedly the most dangerous of all dragons" to which is added in a scribble, "you're not kidding".
- The Hippogriff section says that they "may be domesticated, though this should only be attempted by experts". This is underlined and connected to a note saying, "Has Hagrid read this book?" referring to Hagrid's domestication of a Hippogriff herd despite being anything but an expert.
- In the Billywig section, it is noted that their dried stings are believed to be a component in the popular wizarding sweet "Fizzing Whizbees". In Harry's copy of the book, the words "That's the last time I eat them, then" is seen scrawled under the entry in response.
- The Kappa section claims that this creature is Japanese in origin, to which is added the note "Snape hasn't read this either". This presumably refers to the third book, in which Snape states, "the Kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia".
- The Pixies section has them classified as an XXX level creature. The addition here takes the form of a note saying "or XXXXXXX if you're Lockhart".
- The Puffskein entry has a note, presumably by Ron, saying, "I had one of those once" to which Harry responds, "What happened to it?" and a reply underneath says, "Fred used it for Bludger practice". This conversation also takes place between Harry and Ron in the Philosopher's Stone video game.
- The mermaid entry describes a certain type of merpeople as being "less beautiful..." Next to that line is a note saying "ugly". This refers to Harry's encounters with mermaids in the second Triwizard Task in the fourth book, Goblet of Fire.
- In the troll entry, a picture of a troll is drawn, next to it written, "My name is Gregory Goyle and I smell!"
- In the werewolf entry, next to the heading "Werewolves" a note has been added: "aren't all bad". This is a reference to Professor Lupin, a werewolf and Harry's favourite teacher.
The book does not have entries for Blast-Ended Skrewts (which makes sense, as they are an illegal crossbreed), Boggarts, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Dementors, Hinkypunks, Bicorns, Boomslangs, Cockatrices, Banshees, Three-Headed Dogs or Blood-Sucking Bugbears.
Reception
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
graded the book with an "A" and wrote, "With its richly detailed history lessons and witty debate parsing the differences between being and beast, plus a compendium of 85 magical creatures that's chockablock with Rowling's trademark wordplay (Glumbumble is a standout), Beasts adds a vital new dimension to the Potter mythology."