Exciting Harry Potter Giveaway & Guest Review

Scholastic has recently launched The Real Magic of Harry Potter campaign, inviting new readers (and even ones who have already read the books) to discover (and rediscover) the magical world of Harry Potter. These books really are perfect for the entire family! Scholastic has also created a very fun website devoted to Harry Potter where you can learn more about the books, take quizzes, and play games. Kids are guaranteed to love it!

The Real Magic of Harry Potter campaign involves lots of fabulous promotions including a national sweepstakes which sends families to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- I'd love to win that one! Through June 1, 2010, U.S. residents ages 7-14 can enter The Real Magic of Harry Potter sweepstakes for a chance to win one of four family trips to the new Universal Orlando Resort’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which opens June 18th. There is also a new book trailer supporting the book series as well as exclusive content & giveaways through Scholastic's Facebook and Twitter pages.


But I've also got a little something here at Booking Mama too. One very lucky reader will win the following:

* $50 Visa Cash Card
* The complete paperback box set (books 1-7) valued at $86.99.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me why you love the Harry Potter books. Please make sure you leave a valid e-mail address. This contest will run until Tuesday, April 27th at 11:59 p.m. ET, and I will randomly select a winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you in the United States only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prizes by mail.) Good luck!

Check out this terrific new Harry Potter book trailer. Doesn't it just get you so excited about reading and re-reading these books!



As part of this giveaway post, I thought it was a good time to highlight Booking Daughter's fascination with all things Harry Potter. Ever since we read the first Harry Potter book for our mother-daughter book club, Booking Daughter caught the Harry Potter bug. I'm just thrilled because I've been encouraging her to read these book for a few years now; and she's finally as excited about them as I am.

As part of her language arts class, each child has to do some sort of creative "book report" every few weeks. Booking Daughter has done some fun ones including making up her own reading guide for book club discussions. She not only comes up with some thought-provoking questions, but she also includes suggested activities that go along with the book and the characters. This month, she decided to write a book review (like mother, like daughter) on the third Harry Potter book, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.

Harry Potter is a normal boy who finds out he is a wizard. After terrible years at the Dursly’s, Harry is eager to start his magical life at Hogwarts.

Harry is famous in the magic world. Lord Voldemort (a bad wizard who kills anyone he wants to) tried to kill the Potter family. His mom and dad were murdered but Harry survived with only a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt.

Sirius Black used to be one of Harry’s father’s best friends, but he was accused of killing thirteen people and working for Voldemort. When he escapes from the Azkaban, Harry and everyone else at Hogwarts got scared. Sirius leaves some clues where he might be headed. Everyone thinks that he’s after Harry and heading to Hogwarts. As if Black wasn’t enough to worry about, Harry has other problems like missing out on visits to Hogsmeade, Professor Snape, and Ron and Hermione’s fighting.

The third book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was my least favorite so far, but I still loved it. There wasn’t as much action in this book as the first two. I was expeing a big finish and the ending didn’t meet my expectations. I don’t want to give the ending away, but I really wasn’t surprised by how things worked out.

There were many great things that happened in this book. One thing about this book that I enjoyed was the character of Hermione. I thought she was funny because she was so stubborn and fought with Ron a lot. She had so many classes every day at the same time so she could be stressed, but I felt bad that Harry was sort of stuck in the middle. If Hermione and Ron would have worked together, I bet they would have found out the answer sooner.

I also really liked how Harry snuck out to Hogsmeade and found out that his father was actually friends with Sirius. It was funny that Harry’s dad and Sirius were always getting into trouble just like Harry and his friends. I’m guessing that Harry gets away with things unlike his dad because he is the famous Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn’t the most exciting of the first three Harry Potter books, but it is very character-driven. I learned a great deal about Sirius Black and some background on Harry’s life. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I recommend Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to all fans of Harry Potter and The Lightning Thief books. I also think anyone who enjoys books about adventures and fantasy will love this book too. I wasn’t a big fan of fantasy books until I started reading the Harry Potter series, and now I’m obsessed.

Thanks to Peter from Big Honcho Media and Scholastic for sponsoring this amazing giveaway and for providing me with a complete boxed set of the Harry Potter books.