Future Release - The Christmas Pig

The Christmas Pig

by J.K. Rowling & illustrated by Jim Field

What they say: A heartwarming, page-turning adventure about one child's love for his most treasured thing, and how far he will go to find it. A tale for the whole family to fall in love with, from one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

One boy and his toy are about to change everything...

Jack loves his childhood toy, Dur Pig. DP has always been there for him, through good and bad. Until one Christmas Eve something terrible happens -- DP is lost. But Christmas Eve is a night for miracles and lost causes, a night when all things can come to life... even toys. And Jack’s newest toy -- the Christmas Pig (DP’s replacement) -- has a daring plan: Together they’ll embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known...

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Truly Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Bring on the Magic!!

My short & quick as non-spoilery as possible take on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

David Yates, J. K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne and the entire cast of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them have done a truly wonderful job extending Rowling's magical world beyond or before Harry, Ron and Hermione. We're transported to 1920s New York where we get to meet a whole host of new characters and creatures. Not only is the film amazing, but it's really flipping cool!!
Upon hearing the first few beats of the original Harry Potter music I was instantly transported to a world so familiar, yet wonderfully new and different. I particularly liked the attention to detail (Giggle juice anyone?)  but I really loved Eddie Redmayne's charming portrayal of Newt. 
I cannot wait for the next film and hopefully more Niffler's, No-Maj's, MACUSA troubles, Obscurus twists and of course Newt, Jacob, Tina, Queenie and a certain dark wizard *ahem* Grindelwald...!

Harrius Potter Latin in Modern Fiction

Like so many children I grew up with Harry Potter. I am fortunate enough to own first editions of all of the books. I remember being very young and walking into our local bookstore and seeing a small display of books with a cartoon of a boy with a funny scar on his head. It turns out that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone in the US) had been released that day and I had purchased one of the very first copies.

From the second I read the words "The Boy Who Lived" I was hooked. I grew up in a household full of books, where the written word was worth far more than any new toy or game and knowledge really was power. I remember finding it strange that friends were more interested in watching cartoons and playing with dolls and action figures than reading books. This all changed with Harry Potter, because suddenly children were reading again. J.K. Rowling really did inspire a generation.

Coincidentally I ended up studying at the same University as J.K. Rowling (Exeter). Everywhere I turned I could see parts of Hogwarts. Exeter Uni even has its own Great Hall, dorms (or halls as we called them) with motto's (mine, Kilmorie was nimis non est satis, which is Latin for excess is never enough). Beautiful cobbled streets and villages which bare a striking resemblance to Hogsmead surround the city.


Peter Needham (a former Latin professor) translated the books into Latin. I've been studying Latin for a couple of years now and have decided that it was about time I try to read them. I'm starting with Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis.

You may be wondering the purpose of this post, and I am getting there I promise! Other than the obvious opportunity for me to reminisce about my childhood, I'm conducting a study into the usage of classics in modern books. For example Cassandra Clare includes many references to Latin, Greek and Romanian in her Mortal Instruments series. In The Hunger Games series Suzanne Collins called her distopian nation, Panem (after the famous Latin phrase 'Panem et circenses' meaning the bread and circuses, by which trivial matters appease nations).

The list goes on...! If you have any suggestions of ancient languages appearing in modern books (particularly YA books please do let me know).