Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them | Newt Scamander & J.K. Rowling

This review contains spoilers.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reassure Muggle purchasers that the amusing creatures described hereafter are fictional and cannot hurt you. To wizards, I merely say: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.”

Published: 2017, by Pottermore.
Length: 1hr 57mins. (Narrated by Eddie Redmayne)
Format: Audio-Book
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Short Stories, Childrens, Fiction, Magic
Contains: No Warnings.

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ is a companion book to the Harry Potter series, it featuring as a book required for Hogwarts students during their studies and has been referenced to multiple times. This book works as a textbook on the magical creatures within the wizarding world, written by Newt Scamander, a Magizoologist.

This wasn’t my first read of ‘Fantastic Beasts’ grabbing the first edition back in its release years ago. However, after finding the audiobook narrated by Eddie Redmayne on Audible, I couldn’t resist.

This book is adorable, being full of 81 creatures from the wizarding world, with information on their characteristics and whereabouts for each entry. Although, some were more detailed than others, those being the most dangerous or memorable from the original series, they all gave further insights into the world of Harry Potter. This edition was also supported by sound effects of the creatures, hearing howling and nipping behind the narrators reading, which further reinforced the realism of this companion book.

The introduction was possibly my favourite element of the book, telling the tale of Newt’s reasoning for its creation and his debates with the Ministry on their opinions of various classifications for some of the beasts described. As a fan of Newt Scamander, I loved this inclusion, it being the first insight into him as a character and highlights his adoration of the creatures. After reading, it’s practically impossible to not love Newt.

Overall, although this book is fairly short and I feel as if there could be future editions of an expanded encyclopedia of newly-introduced beasts, I loved this companion. It justifies the reason for the existence of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, me personally wanting to see more about the creatures mentioned. Plus, it being read by the man we now know as Newt Scamander made this an incredibly fun read.