This month's theme has had me stumped but I think I cracked it... as always. The answer lay quietly in the background in the Hogwarts library and I cannot believe that I never thought of it sooner! The version that I am on about isn't the 1927 version (there's been several revisions of it since it's release) but the book was first published in the 1920s - so it works.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was first published in 1927 and is the work of nearly ten years of research compiled by Newt Scamander. The funny thing, is that during this time Newt was also involved with the first capture of Gellert Grindelwald and managed to save Muggle New York with the help of a Thunderbird!
Anyway, back to the book! It is a required textbook for Hogwarts, especially for those who have chosen to take Care of Magical Creatures, but I really think that it is a must have book for everyone. The fact that Newt has done the introduction shows that he really cares about being involved in his own book. Not just the research itself, but making sure that people understood him and the book. I can see where Newt is coming from. As an aspiring author I'd want to make sure that the world knew about my work and what I wanted it to be seen as. Well, in a way at least. However, how it's interpreted is up to the reader of course.
I really love the way that the list is alphabetical. That makes it easier to find the beast you need to identify. I will admit that the pictures were nice and they made me smile. It was lovely to read about the fairies and unicorns as they are my favourites. I wouldn't call them beasts though... maybe creatures? Beautiful and delightful creatures that forever make me smile.
I must confess that it was only recently that I was finally able to learn the Ministry classification system. It is something that I have never quite understood, especially how they assign the classifications to certain beasts. I also love that the classifications appear under the beasts' name, as well as their other known names, as this makes it easier to be able to learn everything about them without needing to flip through pages. Mr. Scamander has also included any tips or spells that can assist the reader if they come up against the aforenamed beast.
As well as seeing my favourite beasts it was also interesting to learn about all the different species of dragon. There are around ten very different ones. Some of them are even native to the UK and Scotland! Bet you didn't know that there were dragons that lived in Scotland! Neither did I until I looked through the book properly. Lets ignore the fact that I hadn't read the book properly until now.
It's such an easy, well laid out book... Well beasts encyclopedia really. Some can even be common house pets with the right training and permissions and others... well I wouldn't want to meet them in a dark Hogsmeade night shall we say? I learnt things I didn't know! For example, the rumoured Muggle monster that is known as the Loch Ness monster (or Nessie) is actually a Kelpie! Not to mention that the legendary beast known as Bigfoot is really a yeti!
Part of the preface on the particular copy I read said that every wizarding household should have a copy of the book, and I can see why. It's such a handy guide to have around the house! Doxy's often can be found in the home and all people would have to do is open the book and see what Newt has to say about the issue. After all, he has spent the best part of ten years studying the beasts of the world in order to help us to understand them all so we can protect the ones who need protecting.
I love the simplicity of the book as well. Some books I've seen in the Hogwarts library have so much information that you have to search for ages to find the information but, with Mr. Scamader's book, you only need to pick up the book and find the beast and you have the need-to-know information there. Some of the beasts I feel could use a little more information, however. I mean, it's ten years of work and some of the beasts only have something like five lines! It just seems that some information has been missed. I don't mean there needs to be pages and pages, but maybe a little more here and there wouldn't go amiss. I still think that the book is worth a read as you never know when you'll need to know how to deal with a beast when you cross it.
Until next time!
Adele x