Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  has been nominated for Blue Peter’s Vote for the “Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years”. You can vote at – http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/blue-peter.

You must sign in with your CBBC iD to cast your vote, and each person can can only vote once. The vote will be open until 4pm on February 23rd and the winning book will be announced on March 1st.

Thanks to Bloomsbury for mailing!

Today I am reviewing a book called Half-Blood Poems by Canadian author Christine Lowther. The book is 113 pages long and contains 71 poems inspired by the Harry Potter books and films.  The poems are separated into 7 chapters, one for each of the books. I am by no means an expert in poems but I do know that I enjoyed reading these. There are funny and weird poems, sad and happy ones and even a song thrown in (“Lord Thingy.”)

Some of my personal favorites were (in no particular order) Longbottom Leaf, Un-Hide, Light and Dark, Dear Diary, The Put-Outer, A Boy’s Hands, Feeling Pensive, Eco-Wizardry, ‘Neville, Unlikely Rebel’ and All The Jinxed Defense Teachers.

And here is a snippet from a poem “Vulnera Sanentur,” inspired by Draco Malfoy:

The silken soft sorrow of the white bird
almost more beautiful in death than in life,
as if painted, lovingly,
on the wood of the cabinet
the very shadows of its feathers as sad as beauty,
as beautiful as sadness,
bewildering as a thug weeping
when he finds grief inside himself,
soft and vulnerable as the bird.

So if you know a Potter fan who is also into poetry this would be a great gift idea! *wink wink*

As a side note, for all of you who love being eco-friendly, these books were produced at a printing facility with Chain-of-Custody certification from 3 environmental organizations: the SFI©, PEFC™ and FSC™. This means that the paper comes from responsibly managed forests.

TotalFilm has compiled a list of 50 Things We Learned from Harry Potter.  The list contains some philosophical lessons as well as some amusing ones, so there is something for everyone.  Each lesson has a description showing how the books or movies taught us these various lessons.  Some of them may be read below and the full list is here.

• Don’t Fear The Reaper
  The Lesson: Death should not be feared
• Mad, Bad & Dangerous
  The Lesson: Nobody does unhinged like Helena Bonham Carter
• Team Effort
  The Lesson: Sometimes you can’t make it on your own
• Confidence Is Key
  The Lesson: You can achieve anything with self-belief
• Comeuppance
  The Lesson: Always treat those below you with kindness
• Protecting The Nest
  The Lesson: Don’t get between a mother and her young
• Wielding The Axe
  The Lesson: Jo Rowling is ruthless

I have some exciting news for you avid Potter book collectors out there. Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a very rare edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at their English Literature, History Private Press, Children’s Books & Illustrations on Thursday, 15 December 2011.  Peter Selley, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Senior Specialist in the Books and Manuscripts Department said: “Another imaginary realm which has captivated millions of readers is that of J.K. Rowling, and the sale features perhaps the ultimate bespoke Harry Potter novel. The unique copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone includes 10 wonderfully fresh illustrations, offered with the original watercolours, by Thomas Taylor, who created the first ever depiction of the young wizard.” Details on the book are as follows:

Offered for sale for the first time, a unique copy of the first 1999 deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, is estimated at £30,000-50,000. The bespoke, extra-illustrated edition is not only signed by the author but also includes 10 specially commissioned full-colour plates by the original Harry Potter illustrator, Thomas Taylor. The consignor asked Taylor to create the images in 2002 for his own library. The scenes were chosen for their significance and to provide an even spread of illustrations throughout the narrative. They were originally intended to be bound into a copy of the book, but proving too thick, were instead reproduced on fine wove paper and sumptuously bound by Asprey. Thomas Taylor provided the first-ever depiction of Harry Potter for the cover of Rowling’s debut novel in 1997. After it was published the image achieved world-wide fame and Taylor’s original watercolour was sold at Sotheby’s London in July 2001 for £85,750.

If I were rich I would definitely bid on this amazing piece of Potter history, for those of you that don’t know I love collecting the Potter books (US and UK editions for now…and a few French from when I visited Paris). My Harry Potter collection is even featured in a book, The Harry Potter Collector’s Handbook. Photos of my collection can be seen in the gallery.

Bob McCabe, the author of Harry Potter: Page to Screen, recently talked about his experiences on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I and II. Some snippets from the interview may be read below:

Were you there on the last week of filming – what was the mood like on set?
I was on set for the very last day of filming – a Saturday, they finished in time for lunch (which was a barbecue with ice cream provided by Rupert Grint’s own ice c ream van.) The final shot itself was unremarkable but as soon as it was over, the entire cast and crew were assembled on set – we sat and watched the very first trailer for Deathly Hallows Part One, which no one had seen, and then there was a special film showing a clapperboard shot for every single day of the 200 plus day shoot in sequential order.

At which point just about everyone collapsed into tears, I was supplying Emma Watson with tissues as she, Dan and Rupert just cried and hugged each other, and everyone realised that is was all finally over. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

What was the most surprising thing you uncovered when researching for the book?
One of the most impressive things was how normal everyone was. The whole Potter production – all ten years of it – has largely been based in a relatively remote location – Leavesden Studios, where there isn’t much else  around. As a result, everyone has found themselves stuck there, making the bets of the situation. And due to the producers keeping an eye on their young cast, everyone has had to balance movies, stardom and glamour with the realities of school and work.

Thankfully, everyone seems to have kept their feet on the ground. There were no egos, no one unwilling to talk for the book, no one who didn’t simply want to help. And, thankfully, no one just back from rehab.

You can order Harry Potter: Page to Screen at Barnes and Noble.

As many of you already know, Harry Potter: Page to Screen will be released next Tuesday, BUT if you pre-order now you get some special content! Everyone who pre-orders Harry Potter: Page to Screen will receive an exclusive preview of the book and can enter to win one of fifty limited edition tote bags; seen below! After pre-ordering the book head over to Facebook to enter to win one of the bags; you must provide proof of purchase to be entered, so you may want to read the official rules first!

Don’t forget to check out the two excerpts that have been released: Excerpt 1, Excerpt 2!