A copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl. 

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Comic Relief, which means that the pounds and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope that passing wizards feel more charitable if they see you being attacked by a Manticore.

- Albus Dumbledore








On the whole, I don't think it would be as grueling to have Hermione's enthusiasm for studying when the subjects in question are magical, whimsical and in most cases downright fascinating.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them reads like a unique blend of encyclopedia and a collection of fairytales. The frequent references it makes to the more mundane "Muggle beasts" makes it all the more diverting. Its perspective on how the Muggles mislabel magical creatures and mistake them for something entirely different makes it so easy to relate to. (Not that I'm a Muggle or anything. You can find me under a star-spangled ceiling, decked in blue and bronze. I'll be the one with a book. Which won't help you at all.)


 This made me want to take notes. It made me want to be quizzed on the material. It made me want to hunt down the world's legends and find where each creature is derived from. As always, Rowling's references to the worldwide folklore are subtle and ever-present. And more than anything, it made me want to delve right into the pages and make a daring escape atop a Hippogriff's back with Sirius.

 And if anything could have made this book flat-out hilarious, it's sharing it with Harry, Ron and (occasionally) Hermione. The margin notes alone are worth the read. Hagrid, they unequivocally agree, has never read this book. Manticores and Fire crabs are bad enough on their own.