2 sets of notes on Harry Potter my daughter wrote, after her first reading and viewing of the first two titles.
Introduction
Harry Potter has been a favourite of many children for the past two decades. My daughter mentioned that a couple of her classmates were reading the series a year or two ago. I thought of borrowing a set for her then but decided against it. From my reading of a couple of chapters from one of my wife’s copy and thought some scenes gruesome. I thought she might be more ready for the series after a few years.
Over the past year, she had mainly been reading grade-school storybooks by authors such as E. L. Konigsberg, Jennifer Holm and Lois Lowry. More recently, she had also gotten interested in mysteries and crime stories. I bought children edition of Sherlock Holmes stories for her, and she took those well. She then went on to read Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, unabridged. Last month, she was intrigued by the cover of a book I was reading. She pestered me to borrow a copy for her too. That was The 7 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I quizzed her on some basic facts of the story when she was done, and she got them all right.
So when her school breaks for Christmas, I borrowed the first two books of the series on her Kobo. In the evenings, we would also watch the respective movies in sessions of between thirty minutes and an hour. As a record of her takeaways for the reading and viewing, I asked her to write 2 sets of notes, one for each title. To get her started, I requested she identify 5 differences between the book and the movie. I reproduce them below, slightly edited.
1st of 2 set of notes: “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone”
The first difference I observed was the name of the precious stone. In the book, it was called the sorcerer’s stone. In the movie, it was called the philosopher’s stone. This is reflected in the titles of the book and the movie.
Secondly, the mention of Ron’s older brothers: Percy, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George. In the book Percy was the one to lead the Gryffindor first-years up to their dormitory. Charlie was the one to take little Norbert the dragon. Bill did not appear, and Fred and George were there when Harry got his Weasley sweater. But in the movie, none of these things happened. We only got to see Fred and George running through the brick wall onto platform 9 ¾.
Third, how the Gryffindors got the largest number of points deducted all in one go. In the movie, their points were deducted when the children went to Hagrid’s cottage in the middle of the night. Not so in the book: they got caught after giving Norbert to Charlie. They also forgot their invisibility cloak in the Astronomy Tower.
The fourth difference is about the Quidditch match. In the book, what kept Professor Quirrel from jinxing Harry’s broom was Hermione knocking him over – ouch! But in the movies – and this is dangerous – he looked over when he noticed that Snape was on fire.
Lastly, Christmas. In the book, Harry found the invisibility cloak last. In the movie, he tried it on as the first present.
2nd of 2 set of notes:: “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets”
Firstly, in the book, when Harry and Ron (under disguise as Crabbe and Goyle) were on their way to the Slytherin common room, they accidentally asked a Ravenclaw girl, Penelope Clearwater, which way the common room was. I liked that version because it created more tension in the story.
Secondly, when Hermione was petrified, they saw Penelope (again) next to her on the bed, and the mirror Hermione was holding was identified as Penelope’s. This only happened in the book. I liked this version better because it means Hermione knew what was going to petrify her, as she asked Penelope for the mirror.
Thirdly, when Ron and Harry were following the spiders into the forbidden forest, Ron said: “Why ‘follow the spiders’? Why not ‘follow the butterflies’?”. This was Hagrid’s instructions to them, and this only happened in the movie. I liked this version better because it shows that Ron is a scary-cat and makes the story quite funny.
Fourth, in the book, Harry had dinner before meeting Dobby, and he already suspected Dobby was in the hedge after he saw it move. I liked this version better, because it creates more suspicion about Dobby being near the house.
Fifth, when big, fat Uncle Vernon tried to stop Harry from escaping, he fell out of the window into the bushes. This only happened in the movie. I liked this version better because it shows that he got what he deserved.
Overall, I liked the book better, partly because it wasn’t as scary as the movie, and partly because it was more interesting with tension and suspicions.
What next
I can see from the 2 sets of notes above, that she has a basic understanding of what she was reading. She was also able to distinguish between what happened in the book versus that in the movie.
As you can see, the first set of note was factual. She simply stated what is or is not. I, therefore, amended my instructions slightly for the second set of notes. I asked her to write down which version she prefers and why.
We still have another week to go and I suspect she will be able to finish at least the next two books in the series. For the next set of notes, I would ask her not just about differences and the version she prefers, but also ask questions so she expresses more of her views and thoughts.
This will be my last post for the extraordinary year of 2020. I hope you’ve all had a blessed Christmas with family and friends. Here’s wishing all a healthier and much better 2021!