News, The Inside Noise
Apr 3, 2020

JK Rowling Launches Harry Potter At Home

JK Rowling has released the latest feature in the sprawling Harry Potter universe, Harry Potter at Home.

Image Courtesy: Scholastic

With many at home with little ones, JK Rowling has launched an educational tool to pair with your at home activities during quarantine.

This Wizard World is a large and sprawling adventure, and now thanks to JK Rowling and her team the creative and educational force of her literary works are available to all. Here is the breakdown directly from Bloosmbury, Audible and The Wizarding World team.

J.K Rowling and her team have already announced a special, open licence for teachers to read the seven Harry Potter books aloud to their pupils in virtual read-a-long sessions on video. This means if you’re a teacher you’ll be able to record yourself reading Harry’s Hogwarts adventures and share these with your pupils online. Learn how to get involved here.

Many teachers around the world have already been in touch!

One said, ‘this is amazing! I started reading book 1 to my second graders about a month ago. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to finish. Now I can finish reading it to them’

Another added, ‘Thanks, @JK_Rowling ! I’m a teacher of English in France and suggested my pupils read the Potter books. In these dark times, I’m twice as grateful for the world you’ve created. 20 years later, it is still a safe place for me…’

The first Harry Potter audiobook for free for everyone

A big thank you to our friends at Audible, who invite you to listen to the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as many times as you like in the coming weeks. This is one of many classic books that will be available on Audible’s new platform, stories.audible.com. – take a look and see what you can find.

The first Harry Potter book will be available to listen to for free in six different languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Japanese). And our American readers will be interested to know that this is the Stephen Fry edition of the audiobook, rather than the US version which features the equally talented Jim Dale. So, you’ll get to hear Harry’s story told with an entirely new voice! We can confirm that Stephen does an excellent Dumbledore.

Visit our new Harry Potter At Home hub

Here on WizardingWorld.com, we’ve built a dedicated space for you to visit which we’ll be updating all the time for your enjoyment. This special Harry Potter At Home hub is where you’ll find all the latest things to keep you occupied – from special activity kits from Bloomsbury to Scholastic, to nifty magical craft videos (teach your friends how to draw a Niffler!) fun articles, quizzes, puzzles and more. We’re casting a Banishing Charm on boredom.

You can visit the Harry Potter At Home hub here – and keep on visiting the page whenever you like. Just like Hogwarts and its staircases, this page will be changing all the time.

Harry’s first adventure will also be made free for all OverDrive library patrons online throughout April

Pottermore Publishing will also be teaming up with digital library supplier OverDrive to gift the first book in its digital form. Patrons of OverDrive libraries will be able to borrow Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as an eBook or audiobook in over 20 languages from participating local and school libraries, including via OverDrive’s Libby app, and the Sora appfor schools.

This offering will last until the end of April, so if you can, why not have a browse?

And that is simply the start

Along with all the other members of our Wizarding World family, we’re going to keep finding new ways to bring magic into your world during this time.

So, however you like to get your Wizarding World updates, be it here, on our Wizarding World app, on our TwitterInstagram and Facebook pages (if you’re old enough!) or, of course, through our new Harry Potter At Home hub – we’ll keep bringing you the joy of reading. Remember, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.

For weekly Harry Potter At Home updates and so much more, we’re also launching a newsletter – so we can deliver all of our latest news, activities and more, straight to your inbox in one nice package. To opt in, don’t forget to click the check box when asked during registration. No owls required!