Harry Potter and the 20th Anniversary

About 20 years ago, I was reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for the first time… I have loved all the books (and the films) and read them to my children until they were old enough to read the next instalment by themselves.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised they both claim to be part of the ‘Harry Potter Generation’.

There are, of course, many things going on to mark the anniversary, and I’m very pleased to be playing a part in one of them. The British Library is hosting an exhibition – Harry Potter: A History of Magic – from October, and  Bloomsbury and the British Library are publishing a children’s book to accompany it – Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History Of Magic. I was delighted to be asked to write some of the text and suggest activities connected with the subjects Harry studies at Hogwarts.

Amazing books, objects and original illustrations will be on display, and it was great fun finding out about some of them. My favourite challenge was to come with a colour-changing potion you can make at home and drink. I’m very much hoping to see the exhibition for myself, knowing what’s going to be on show…

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