Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

A Harry Potter Hogwarts Library Book

By: J.K. Rowling, Newt Scamander

Narrated by: Eddie Redmayne

An approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since its first publication, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable guide to the magical beasts of the wizarding world. It showcases a menagerie of magical creatures, explained enchantingly by noted magizoologist, Newt Scamander, who you may remember from the film series of the same name.

And, who better to narrate this compendium of beasts than Eddie Redmayne, Oscar-winning star of the Fantastic Beasts films. The audiobook uses thrilling soundscapes to bring the beasts off the page.

The shelves of the Hogwarts Library are also home to many more fascinating books. If you have enjoyed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them you might want to check out some of its other treasures: Quidditch Through the Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Comic Relief, operating name Charity Projects, is a registered charity in the UK with charity nos. 326568 (England/Wales) and SC039730 (Scotland). Lumos Foundation is a registered charity in the UK with no. 1112575 (England/Wales). 15% of the proceeds* received by Pottermore Limited from this audiobook will be made available to the charities for their work across the UK and globally including helping children and young people have a better life. These proceeds will be shared 20% for Comic Relief and 80% for Lumos Foundation.

*Proceeds means the cash-price or cash-equivalent price less sales taxes.

©2017 J.K. Rowling (P)2017 J.K. Rowling

A Textbook Plucked from Harry Potter's Backpack

This was a good addition to the world of Harry Potter. Big fans of the book series will probably enjoy this book, but it's not really a story... If we were to pluck a textbook of magical creatures from Harry Potter's backpack, it would be this book.

This book reads just like a modern textbook, except this one is about magical creatures. Listed in alphabetical order, the book describes all of the magical creatures we read about in the Harry Potter books, as well as many we never really heard about.

The audio performance was very good, but I had some issues with the recording in some places...
Some of the creatures had "notes" that in a textbook would be something in the margin or at the bottom of the page. Though well performed, these "notes" were all of a different audio quality (almost muffled) than the rest of the narration. It as like the narrator went back and recorded the "note" sections while holding their hand over the microphone...

This was overall a very good listen. As a huge Harry Potter fan, this was a great addition to one of my favorite book series. 5 Stars!

Fantabulous Beasts For The Hardcore Fan!

Make no mistake--there is no story here; rather it's Newt Scamander's textbook. But it's chock full off wondrous beasts that are sure to delight fans. You'll find the familiar; you'll find the new and awesome. And you'll even find a bit of the wizarding world outside of Harry Potter's Great Britain. Beasts from Africa, Asia, even America (where there's a bit of history with the wizarding's American President).
Eddie Redymayne does a fantastic job reading what is essentially Harry's school work (reminds me of people saying someone's voice is so good they could read the phonebook). He puts awe and spellbinding wonder into each beast and its history.
This book made me do something I haven't done since I was a kid: stop and make up stories myself about each creature.
It was a nice ride, a journey into a ticklesome safari.

NOT the movie!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am almost half way through this book. I'm not sure I"m going to continue because it's not a story. It's more like encyclopedia entries about the creatures.

What could J.K. Rowling and Newt Scamander have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The actual movie story could have been included since that's what several of us (I see, now, after purchasing it) THOUGHT we were buying.

Have you listened to any of Eddie Redmayne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, sorry.

Do you think Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Only if it is the actual story that the movie is based on.

Any additional comments?

While I enjoy learning more about the magical creatures, it is misleading to call it the same name as the story. It should be called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, an Encyclopedia of Creatures. Or something like that - because that's what you get. It's not the movie story that I thought I was buying. It's not a story with a plot line. It's an A-Z reading of all the magical creatures. Very Disappointing! (The reader, however, is fantastic!)

fantastic details

love the facts that i just learned. i love newt scamander. Hufflepuff for life! a must read

Great for sleeping

thought it was more of a story. Best part is, I use it to fall asleep. I put voice speed on 90% and it puts me right to sleep. Never been able to stay awake for entire book.

That voice though.

I love Eddie Redmayne. Can he just read all the books? Newt Scamander is the best. 💛

Loved this book from start to finish!

I absolutely love the Harry Potter universe and everything it entails! This book was great!

Good Read-a-long

Have the hard copy of the book, couldn't get through it on my own. Calming and fun read, very much felt like Newt was reading me a textbook.

The sound is poorly done

If I turn the audio up loud enough to understand when he reads the notations then its way too loud for comfortable listening during the rest of the book

yaaas

i liked it it was very informing sweet cool ya so uhm 3 more words