A Page on J.K. Rowling

Written by Jacob C. Herman

J.K. Rowling will go down in history as one of the world’s most famous authors because of her incredibly successful Harry Potter series, which debuted in 1997. Rowling was born in England, where she lived for most of her life, struggling to become an author. The idea for Harry Potter came to her in 1990, on a trip from Manchester to London. Before she completed the first book, she moved to Portugal, got married, and gave birth to a daughter, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes. Soon after, the couple divorced and Rowling moved to Scotland with Jessica. The first manuscript was finished in 1995, and once it was published, the rest was history: Harry Potter became a phenomenon, earning literally billions of dollars by 2009. Rowling has been on multiple lists including the Forbes and Sunday Times Rich List as a testament to her immense fortune. After the 7^th novel entitled Harry Porter and the Deathly Gallows, the series is complete.

Biography

• Official Site: Rowling’s official site, which has news and updates from Rowling herself.
• Rowling: Brief biography from a children’s book website about Rowling.
• JK Rowling Fan: Site dedicated to J.K. Rowling.
• The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination: Rowling’s Harvard speech when she received her honorary degree.
• J.K. Rowling On The Web: A list of links to other sites about Rowling and the Harry Potter series.
• Contemporary Writers Biography: Biography that discusses Rowling’s life before Harry Potter.

Harry Potter Stuff

• Harry Potter Lexicon: Considered the best Harry Potter site on the web, it has an encyclopedia’s worth of information compiled from the books.
• About The Books: Scholastic page about the series that offers lots of insightful information and activities.
• MuggleNet: One of the largest and most comprehensive sites about Harry Potter on the web.
• The Leaky Cauldron: Another large fan site for the series that also keeps track of news.
• Harry Potter Box: Lists all of the many references in the Harry Potter books that people may miss because they are unfamiliar with the culture, etc.
• Harry Potter Realm: Page that has sections like editorials, store and information about the books and movies.
• Harry Potter for Grown-Ups: Aimed at adult readers of the Harry Potter series.
• Warner Brothers Site: Official site for the Harry Potter movies.
• Harry Potter Resources: Links to Harry Potter sites.

Criticisms and Reviews

• The Secrets of Harry Potter: Discusses how the books were influenced by culture and how they are set up.
• Bewitched, Bothered, and Bored: Harry Potter, the Movie: Article that discusses whether to experience Harry Potter on film or in print.
• Not For Muggles: Article that criticizes the books and looks at why they are so popular.
• Final Book Review: NYT review of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
• First Book Review: Review of the very first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
• Harry Potter Criticism: Listing with links of different criticisms for the Harry Potter books.
• The Problem With Harry Potter: Discusses the problems people have with their children reading Harry Potter.
• Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes.: Criticisms from a writer about why Harry Potter got popular.
• Harry Potter and the Attack of the Critics: Article that discusses Harry Potter criticisms.

Lesson Plans for Harry Potter

• A Writing Lesson Plan: A lesson plan about writing, inspired by the Harry Potter series.
• Harry Potter's Library: Lesson plan that involves comparing the Potter books to other beloved fantasy novels.
• Lesson Plan Listing: A page full of lesson plan listings.
• Resources And Activities: Has activities and other resources for the Harry Potter book series.
• LitPlan Links: Links to Harry Potter plans, most free for use, but some available for purchase.
• Harry Potter Activities: Listing of different activities that have to do with the Harry Potter books.
• Harry Potter's World: Two lesson plans for Harry Potter books.
• Potter Lesson Plans: Links to multiple Harry Potter lesson plans.
• ESL Lesson Plans: A lesson plan for ESL students about Harry Potter.
• Lesson Plans Related to Harry Potter: Huge listing of Harry Potter lessons.
• Harry Potter Lessons: Lessons relating to the first book.