Eleven summers ago, I worked at a public library. A pallet of new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books arrived a few days before the release date... wrapped in lots of shrink wrap. So close and yet still out of reach.
I drew Xenophilius Lovegood dancing with his daughter Luna at Bill Weasley's wedding in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Not only do the Weasleys seem to have maybe the coolest house ever, they have the best, or at the very least the quirkiest, neighbors.
"Q" can be a difficult letter. I've read a lot of alphabet books, and you can always tell when an author is stretching to make "Q" and "X" words fit the theme of the book. So for this post, I owe J.K. Rowling thanks for writing Quidditch Through the Ages. I illustrated a seeker from Oliver Wood's team, Puddlemore United.
Fittingly, today is the birthday of both the character Harry Potter and his author, J.K. Rowling. The scene I chose to illustrate is Hagrid arriving to give Harry his Hogwarts letter and a rather battered birthday cake. I could go on and on about how much I love, love, love Harry Potter, but I'll just mention two things that I admire about this series. First, the characters are so well written, I feel like I know them. Even the minor characters are well rounded, with strengths and weaknesses. Every few years when a book came out, it was like a visit with old friends. I really miss that. (The Qudditch World Cup article on Pottermore was a nice treat this year.) Secondly, I am forever grateful that Harry Potter made reading a shared experience. Suddenly, my friends were interested in reading books.
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Melissa TisonI'm an aspiring author / illustrator. Archives
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