Who Is J.K. Rowling?

J. K. Rowling is the author who gave us the magical Harry Potter universe. Whether you love her or disagree with her views, her story is truly aspiring. Though I haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series yet, I was interested in Rowling’s journey, from her modest childhood to celebrity status. Therefore, I chose to read Who Is J.K. Rowling? written by Pam Pollack and Meg Belvisom and beautifully illustrated by Stephen Marchesi. This book is an unauthorized biography aimed at younger readers and it is written in a simple yet entertaining manner.Everybody knows that the idea for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came to Rowling while travelling by train. However, she loved writing and telling stories from a young age, thus she entertained her friends with stories she made up. The passion for writing followed Jo throughout her early adult life and she managed to squeeze a little time to write as often as she could. Writing had a therapeutic effect on Rowling’s mind, especially when she went through though times. Yet, from the moment she had the epiphany about a boy who “had round glasses and a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.” (p. 6), her path slowly led her towards her lifelong dream of becoming an author. Though Rowling had an early life filled with hardship, I admire her perseverance to finish her book.What I love the most about this biography is that we’re not only following Rowling’s life, but also the journey of the Harry Potter series, from the first spark of inspiration to fandom. There are some interesting pieces of information about Rowling, her bumpy road to publication and the success that affected her and her family. You will also read about the films, Pottermania, Pottermore, Rowling’s charity work and so on. The book contains some brief sidenotes about places and people who influenced or played an important role in Rowling’s growth as a writer, as well as other facts readers may like to know. There is also a timeline of Rowling’s life, a timeline of the world and sources the authors quoted in the book. Furthermore, please bear in mind that this biography contains some spoilers from the Harry Potter books!“Jo might have finished writing Harry Potter, but chances are that kids will continue to read about him for generations to come. Harry’s world of dragons, castles, and magic wands is truly timeless. Perhaps one day he will take his place among other classic children’s book characters like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, with his story read by children of all ages forever.” (P 101)

Cute little book for my 5th grade to use as part of his biography paper in elementary school. I would not use this book as a reference for any higher level grade student. The book has some illustrations in it and it looks like this specific book is geared more towards students in grade five and under.

I liked how it told how she struggled but never gave up on reaching her dream and she did reach far beyond what she ever imagined. SHE IS MY HERO, ROW-MODEL AND MY MOTIVATION TO HELP OTHERS THROUGH MY PHOTOGRAPHY!!! See I have a very similar story behind my life and I look at her story and I think how much we have in common except I just started my journey and I haven’t even scared the surface I’m still working on becoming a professional photographer/photojournalist but someday I’m going to make it to a big time magazine or newspaper but i do have a website: sites.google.com/view/hjartandcreativewriting

I got this book for my daughter for Easter but I was the one who couldn't put it down! As somebody who wants to be an author, I find her story very inspirational. The book was well written and had lots of extras to explain concepts more in depth. A lot of the book was about Harry Potter and how she created the Harry Potter world. Very good, great for kids but good for adults too!

This is a cute little biography about J.K. Rowling. It is kid-friendly, but I bought it just to add to my HP collection. I enjoyed the quick read. It didn't have a ton of information I hadn't read on line, but a few tidbits and some cute illustrations and reference entries. I would recommend it for any Rowling fan.