2nd Annual Harry Potter Party!!!

Whoa, guys. You should be soooo stoked for the Harry Potter party on July 31 (check out the deets at the bottom). To get in the mood, here are some cool HP links to check out:

• Daniel Radcliffe said he can't wait to see Fantastic Beasts, but will he be in the movie? He says no, but of course people are speculating that he will.
• Speaking of Fantastic Beasts, you could be the newest star! Producers are holding a casting call in London on July 18 to find an actress for the role of Modesty. Luna Lovegood herself is signal boosting the call!
• How much would it cost to go to Hogwarts? Research has been done, and the result is staggering. Reports say that with Galleon-to-Dollar conversion, Hogwarts tuition would be around $43,031 a year. WHOA. Makes you appreciate Ron's parents even more.
• Fandoms collide! Here is a selfie of cast members for Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. [If you don't know what a fandom is, check out The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Geek Girls by Sam Maggs (YA 302.23 M).]

I think this photo is gonna make the world implode..... Last night was really great #sdcc2015

A photo posted by @maisie_williams on Jul 12, 2015 at 11:01am PDT

• 100 Things You Didn't Know About Harry Potter
• Test Your Knowledge of Spells
• What's in Hermione Granger's inbox?
• 23 Times Harry Potter Characters Made Deeply Questionable Choices
• What Job Would You Have in the 'Harry Potter' Wizarding World?
• Can You Guess The "Harry Potter" Character By These Emojis?
• Can You Guess Which "Harry Potter" Book These Chapter Illustrations Are From?
• Fans of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl know about HP-style fanfic. Here is one HP fanfic that has been gaining attention lately, even though it was published in 2001. What do you prefer: Harry Potter fanfic or "Carry On" by Fangirl's protagonist, Cath?
• There is mass hysteria surrounding Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. Some bookstores are preparing for Harry Potter-like crowds. But this article from Quartz claims that the excitement surrounding the books is J.K. Rowling's fault. What?! Do you blame Queen Jo for fervent children's book fans?
• This fan-made Marauders prequel is everything.

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! @ Main Library

7/31/2015

July 31 is Harry's birthday, and it marks when he first gets his Hogwarts letter. Come out to the Library and celebrate this super wizard's birthday with crafts, games & snacks! Don't forget to dress as your favorite character!

Location:
Main Library - downtown Harrisonburg




UPDATE: 
The director of some of the HP movies wants to make more!! Yes, please!!!

Before the Summer Ends + HARRY POTTER BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

It's the end of July! That means you've got some serious summer reading to fit into the last few weeks before school starts up again. To give you some inspiration, check out the following:

• YALSA is having a Teen Blogging Contest for Teen Read Week! If you're passionate about YA lit and love to blog, this is perfect for you. TRW isn't until October--more about that later--but you only have until August 1 (that's Friday!) to sign up for the contest! Click here for more information.
• This one isn't just for the girls! Meg Medina, author of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind, and Gigi Amateau, author of Claiming Georgia Tate and Come August, Come Freedom, made a summer reading list of books about amazing girls. This list is awesome, and should be required reading for any kid, in my opinion. (I'm still working my way through some of them!) Fun fact: Both authors live in Richmond!
• Veronica Roth did an interview with Goodreads about her Divergent trilogy and subsequent prequel(ish) quartet of short stories about the male lead, Four. It has some major spoilers, so don't read it unless you've read at least up to Allegiant. Before you go back to school, this is a perfect time to get caught up on one of the hottest literary trends of the past few years! Then read the interview to get some questions answered for you.

The coolest and most awesome thing you can do before July ends is come to the Harry Potter birthday party we're having at the library tomorrow night! It's going to have everything: Butterbeer, Hagrid's (cup)cakes, wandmaking at Ollivander's, the Sorting Hat, and even Quidditch. That's right--the JMU Quidditch Team is going to be here to teach us the greatest wizarding sport ever and help us play a game. It's going to be amazing, so put on your best HP costume and come to the Main branch to throw Harry Potter the best birthday party he never had!

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

7/31/2014

Teens (ages 11-17) are invited to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday by drinking butterbeer, making your own wand, and playing his favorite wizarding sport with the JMU Quidditch team. You'll even be sorted into one of the Hogwarts Houses!

Location:

Main Library-downtown Harrisonburg

Dumbledore's Army Reunion BY J.K. ROWLING!!

J.K. Rowling wrote an amazing update for the Dumbledore's Army for Pottermore.

(If you don't know what Pottermore is, it's an online Harry Potter resource, with games [you can make potions and cast spells!] and a very safe social aspect [it's completely anonymous]. You follow the course of the books through chapters--meaning you answer quiz questions written by Queen Jo herself to get sorted into a house at Hogwarts in the first one! Plus there is so much background on all your favorite characters, locations, potions... It's just really cool and fun! Wait until you read Professor McGonagall's background; she's fantastic.)

Queen Jo wrote an article as Rita Skeeter and posted in on Pottermore yesterday as though Dumbledore's Army (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna) had a reunion at the Quidditch World Cup! You also get an update on some other faves. In case you were wondering, the article mentions that Harry is 34 years old (The Deathly Hallows takes place from 1997-1998).

When I first started reading it, I saw it on Tumblr without seeing the caption and I just thought it was an insanely good fanfic, but I got to a certain point and realized it was her...it was the queen. If you come to the Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31, we can gab about everything and--oh, enough talk! Here's the article she posted! (If you zoom in, you'll have to read all the left columns before the right ones.)

Major spoiler alert!! If you don't want to know what they're up to all these years later, do not read past this sentence!

Adaptation News!!!

THERE'S A MOCKINGJAY PART 1 TEASER THAT'S SO AMAZING IT MAKES ME WANT TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

"PANEM TODAY, PANEM TOMORROW, PANEM FOREVER."

Wow, guys. This is going to be great. Which reminds me...

I've been speculating with people about where the first part of Mockingjay is going to end. It's not like the book is easily broken into parts. Where do you think they're going to end Mockingjay Part 1? Comment with your thoughts.
*Note: This makes the comment section definitely a spoiler zone! Watch out for that!

Also, if you haven't heard already, John Green broke some major news on his Twitter last night:

So excited to announce that the brilliant filmmaker Sarah Polley will be writing and directing a film adaptation of Looking for Alaska.
— John Green (@realjohngreen) June 26, 2014

For those of you keeping tally of John Green movie adaptations:
TFiOS: Check
LfA: They're working on it
Paper Towns: Other people are working on it
An Abundance of Katherines: Some other people might be working on that one, too? There have been rumors.

So if you like John Green's books, this is a really good week for you.

And finally, we've all been totally excited for the addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios--and totally jealous of anyone who's lucky enough to visit. But now you can see what it's all about! Slash Film offers us an insight into Diagon Alley with tons of detailed pics of the decor, props, and even food & drinks! Take a look around and enjoy--and get ready for the Harry Potter Birthday Party we're throwing here at the library on July 31 (more details to follow)!