Trivia Answers: Harry Potter Series

Thanks to everyone for participating in my Harry Potter Series trivia! Here are the answers you are all waiting for:

1. Sorcerer's Stone: What did Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon give Harry for a Christmas present?
A: A fifty-pence piece

2. Chamber of Secrets: Not counting cats or ghosts, how many students were petrified by the Basilisk?
A: 4. Colin Creevey was the first student attacked, then Justin Finch-Fletchley (along with Nearly Headless Nick), and then Hermione was attacked at the same time as Penelope Clearwater.

3. Prisoner of Azkaban: Harry has been reading A History of Magic hoping to find facts to help write his paper "Witch Burning in the 14th Century Was Completely Pointless...Discuss". Which witch enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than 47 times?
A: Wendelin the Weird

4. Goblet of Fire: What color ferret does Mad-Eye Moody turn Malfoy into?
A: White

5. Order of the Phoenix: Which member of Dumbledore's Army betrayed them by reporting their meeting to Umbridge?
A: Marietta Edgecombe

6. Half-Blood Prince: Which Order of the Phoenix member is stationed at the Prime Minister's office?
A: Kingsley Shacklebolt

7. Deathly Hallows: According to Potterwatch, what did Hagrid do that forced him to go into hiding?
A: He held a "Support Harry Potter" party

Congratulations to everyone who got the right answers!

— Alyssa, STACKS Intern

Illustration (from Harry Potter) by Mary GrandPré © 1998-2008 Warner Bros

LIVE CHAT! Harry Potter

This just in via Owl Post -- the next live chat is all about your (and our) favorite boy wizard wonder!

WHEN: Saturday, July 25, 4-5 PM E.T. (1-2 PM E.T.)
TOPIC: Harry Potter!

In celebration of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in paperback on July 7th, we want to know what kids on THE STACKS think of this little* phenomenon that J. K. Rowling's cooked up.

And if you've only just picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone . . . you've got until July 25th to catch up! Embrace your inner Hermione-esque nerd, take the quiz to find out which Hogwarts house you belong to, and bring your Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin pride to the chat!

— STACKS Staffers

*When we say "little," think along the lines of Hagrid's "little" Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, Norbert.

Illustration (from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) by Mary GrandPré © 2007 Warner Bros

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UPDATE: 7/25 — Thanks for joining today's chat! We'll be posting the transcript soon, and also announcing the date for our next chat, all about The 39 Clues.

UPDATE: 8/5 — Check out the transcript here, and join us for The 39 Clues chat!

Trivia: Harry Potter Series

How well do you know the Harry Potter series? Here is a 7 question trivia quiz, one question for each of the seven books! These questions are not the obvious ones. They're a bit more obscure, so you really gotta know your facts!

1. Sorcerer's Stone: What did Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon give Harry for a Christmas present?

2. Chamber of Secrets: Not counting cats or ghosts, how many students were petrified by the Basilisk?

3. Prisoner of Azkaban: Harry has been reading A History of Magic hoping to find facts to help write his paper "Witch Burning in the 14th Century Was Completely Pointless...Discuss". Which witch enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than 47 times?

4. Goblet of Fire: What color ferret does Mad-Eye Moody turn Malfoy into?

5. Order of the Phoenix: Which member of Dumbledore's Army betrayed them by reporting their meeting to Umbridge?

6.  Half Blood Prince: Which Order of the Phoenix member is stationed at the Prime Minister's office?

7. Deathly Hallows: According to Potterwatch, what did Hagrid do that forced him to go into hiding?

Good luck!

— Alyssa, STACKS Intern

Illustration (from Harry Potter) by Mary GrandPré © 1998-2008 Warner Bros

"J. K. Rowling: A Year in the Life" on ABC!

Talk about Must-See TV! Right on the heels of the paperback release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (in stores as of July 7^th) comes the American premiere of "J. K. Rowling: A Year in the Life," a special documentary of the world-famous Harry Potter author’s life. This film follows Rowling during October 2006–October 2007, the year she finished the final Harry Potter book. We get a peek into her world as she was actually typing the last words of the book! Rowling also takes us back to the apartment where she wrote the first book, and even into her childhood hometown to see the inspirations for many of her characters.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you won’t want to miss this! Tune in to ABC on Thursday, July 16 at 8 p.m. ET!

For a video preview of the documentary, visit the Leaky Cauldron.

So, are you guys going to watch? I know I am!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Harry Potter Movie Premiere!

Can you imagine being the luckiest person in the world? Well, Scholastic  Kid Reporter, Danielle Azzolina can. The sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will open in theaters nationwide on July 15 (with a PG rating), but the New York City premiere was on July 9 and she was there to interview the actors on the red carpet! 

Can you imagine?! There were tons of reporters and fans screaming for their attention, but Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and other actors in the movie all stopped to talk to Danielle and answer her questions. To find out what they had to say about their roles in Half-Blood Prince, read her article. Apparently, Daniel was especially nice.

Danielle also got to speak with the Director David Yates, and ask him which scene had the most bloopers:

“There's a scene right at the beginning of the movie where we get Daniel, Rupert, and Emma sitting in the Burrow talking about how old Dumbledore is,” he said. “I can't tell you how many bloopers we got in that scene because they kept cracking up. I had to send them off the set for a while!”

I can't wait to see the actual scene! I can't wait to see the whole movie! In the meantime, I can watch this video sneak peek (over and over again):

For more on her amazing experience at the New York City premiere, read Danielle's post on the Scholastic Kids Press Corps blog. And also check out the Scholastic Kids Press Corp site to find out what else those lucky kids have been doing!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

PHOTOS: Scholastic Kid Reporter Danielle Azzolina interviews Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, stars of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, at the movie premiere in New York City. (Photos Courtesy of Scholastic Kids Press Corps)

Celebrating a Softer Side of Harry

What were you doing July 21, 2007? Even though it was two years ago, I can tell you exactly what I was doing: reading my copy of the just-released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since then I've read the book all over again, cover-to-cover, plus listened to the audio book twice. So, do you think I was excited when the book came out in paperback earlier this week? Even a troll would know the answer to that question: YES!

And I wasn't the only one celebrating the paperback release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the big day (July 7th) — Muggles throughout our Scholastic headquarters got into the action. Check out my photos from the festivities — and don't be surprised if some of them start to move . . .

And don't forget that our next STACKS chat is all about Harry Potter! Join us on July 25, 4–5 p.m. (ET) for a LIVE discussion about the boy who lived.

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Trivia Answer: The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Hey all you Pottermaniacs! Lots of you got the answer to last week's trivia question, "What's the name of Beatrix Bloxam's book? What is in her book?" but the very first person to get both parts right was Warriorgurl -- so congrats to Warriorgurl and to everyone else who knew the answer.

For everyone who could use a good re-read of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Beatrix Bloxam's infamous book is titled Toadstool Tales. This book contains re-written versions of old wizarding stories, including some of Beedle's tales. When re-writing the tales, Bloxam took out anything she found objectionable or offensive, replacing the content with her own cutesy inventions. In his notes on The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Dumbledore tells us that Mrs. Bloxam's version of “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” “has met the same response from generations of Wizarding children: uncontrollable retching, followed by an immediate demand to have the book taken from them and mashed into pulp."

Hearing that sure makes me glad that J. K. Rowling gave us Beedle's version of the stories, and not Mrs. Bloxam's!

— Carly H. STACKS Staffer

Trivia: The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Since the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie release was pushed back to July 17th, it's been a while since we Harry Potter fans have had anything new to go gaga over. But this lull in Pottermania should have given you all a chance to get super-familiar with your copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

So, today I have a trivia question from this book of wizarding fairy tales:

What's the name of Beatrix Bloxam's book? What is in her book?

Leave a comment with your answer. Good luck guessing!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

The Real Harry Potter - Trivia Answer

A big thanks to those of you who answered my trivia question from last week!

The question was: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, who are all the people involved in the "Seven Potters" plan for moving Harry to safety? Who pretends to be Harry? And who pairs up with whom?

The answer:

1. Harry (as himself) + Hagrid
2. Mundungus (as Harry) + Mad-Eye
3. Hermione (as Harry) + Kingsley
4. Ron (as Harry) + Tonks
5. Fred (as Harry) + Mr. Weasley
6. George (as Harry) + Lupin
7. Fleur (as Harry) + Bill

And, of course, a Hagrid-sized CONGRATULATIONS to Kate for being the first commenter to get it right. Great job, Kate!

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Illustration by Mary GrandPré © 1998-2008 Warner Bros

Trivia: Will the Real Harry Potter Please Stand Up?

I don't know if it was too many Christmas cookies or what, but I found myself in bed with a fever just before New Year's. Too tired and fuzzy-headed to concentrate on reading or even TV, I turned to an old standby: the audiobook for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Nothing like the magical voice of Jim Dale to soothe a roaring headache. AND listening to the audiobook inspired me to come up with a new trivia question for you guys!

Towards the beginning of the book, members of the Order and friends of Harry's arrive at the Dursley's to help move Harry to safety. The plan involved six people drinking Polyjuice Potion in order to transform into copies of Harry. Each "Harry" then couples up with a member of the Order, and the seven pairs head off to seven different safe houses.

My question is: Who are all the people involved in this plan? Who pretends to be Harry? And who pairs up with whom?

Leave a comment with your answer! And don't forget to include who travels with the real Harry!

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Edited 1/19: The answer is up!

Transfiguration Trivia - Answer!

I guess my Transfiguration Trivia question was a difficult question, as no one really guessed everything I was looking for.

But congratulations are in order for Emma who was the first and only person to answer the first question: What are the rules that govern transfiguration? The correct response is Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. And Emma was right about when they are mentioned in the Harry Potter series: Hermione tells Harry and Ron about them in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

As for my second question (What things cannot be created through transfiguration?) — more simply put: what are the five exceptions to Gamp's Law? Most of you guessed food, which was Hermione's point when talking about Gamp's Law with Harry and Ron. As for the other four, well, I guess I have to admit this is a bit of a trick question, as we don't know for sure. Most people agree that true love is probably one of these exceptions. And I've seen human life and money guessed time and time again. If those guesses are right, that gives us four exceptions, but there should be five.

That means technically, anyone who makes a guess is a winner! So, what do you think the fifth exception is?

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Video!

Hey, Harry Potter fans! I bet some of you have already finished reading J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard (available to the public as of yesterday). But if you haven't gotten to the bookstore or library yet, here's a sneak peek!

Arthur Levine (co-editor of the Harry Potter series) reads "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" (btw, there's about 40 seconds of silence at the beginning of the video; don't worry, the story is coming):

More videos after the page break!