First up, prepare to get a little bit teary at this new sizzle reel put together by Scholastic, rolling back the years…
And here’s everything you need to know about how Scholastic are celebrating. Including a rather illuminating moment in New York…
The Empire State Building will light up in Hogwarts house colours
On 27th September, the world-famous Empire State Building will light up Gryffindor red, Slytherin Green, Ravenclaw blue and Hufflepuff yellow to commemorate this huge milestone in the Harry Potter calendar. If you live in the city that doesn’t sleep, you’ll definitely not want to miss this one.
Scholastic will donate 25,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to schools
Across the US, kids, teachers, and school librarians will receive free copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in collaboration with the Scripps Howard Fund. The national literacy campaign “If You Give a Child a Book...” focuses on providing free books to low-income students. Additionally, all seven Harry Potter books will be gifted to school libraries in underserved communities.
Get ready for the “Welcome to Hogwarts” National Contest
“What class would you take at Hogwarts and why?” – that is the question being posed to young fans with the chance of winning an incredible prize. Competition entrants simply need to answer the question – then three lucky winners and their guests will be whisked off to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ at the location of their choice, Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort. Other prizes include a Harry Potter book box set and a classroom set of Harry Potter books to donate to a school of the winner’s choice, among other magical items. If only Felix Felicis was available to help you win! You can grab all the details here.
Free Harry Potter “Welcome to Hogwarts” Book Kits
The Hogwarts goodies don’t end there. To bring communities together and to encourage kids and families to start their own reading journey, Scholastic this month will be distributing thousands of free Harry Potter “Welcome to Hogwarts” Book Club kits to schools and libraries around the country. Each kit will feature fun activities, discussion guides, stickers and bookmarks. All the downloadable magic can be found right here.
A new paperback box set
Enjoy the Harry Potter books with refreshed covers, featuring the iconic Harry Potter logo from artist Mary GrandPré – the incredible talent behind the artwork on the original US Harry Potter books.
And many more exciting tomes
There are three more titles to take a look at this year to get in on the excitement, from creative cooking to an encyclopaedic exploration of Harry Potter.
The Official Harry Potter Cookbook (Out now!) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, illustrated by MinaLima (Out 3rd October) The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac (Out 10th October)
And finally, 25 years calls for 25 fun facts about the Harry Potter books. See how many of these you knew!
