Who Is J.K. Rowling?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, Who H.Q.

Everyone loves Harry Potter. Now kids can learn about Harry's creator!

In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga. Rowling's true-life, rags-to-riches story is as compelling as the world of Hogwarts that she created. This biography details not only Rowling's life and her love of literature but the story behind the creation of a modern classic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Childrens, Middle Grade, History, Harry Potter, Biography Memoir

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2012

About the author

Pamela Pollack is a writer/editor/compiler of children's and young adult books.

Reviews

[leynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is quite useless. There's nothing of substance to be gained by reading it. J.K. Rowling's Wikipedia page will tell you more about her than this book will. Having been published in 2012, this book naturally doesn't discuss Rowling's blatant transphobia – which has now become an important part of her (online) personality. Would not recommend!

[Reem Ghabbany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun good read ❤️ I wish I could be a writer like her one day.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right now I am doing a challenge with two of my close female friends. Our goal is to read all of the Harry Potter book, since none of us have read them. Before I started the 3rd book I saw this one and thought maybe I should learn a little bit about the author first.

This book was extremely well written and I learned a lot of new information that was not covered in her documentary film on Netflix.

"In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga. Rowling's true-life, rags-to-riches story is as compelling as the world of Hogwarts that she created. This biography details not only Rowling's life and her love of literature but the story behind the creation of a modern classic."

[Princolitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con este libro pude cumplir dos de mis propósitos literarios: leer un libro en inglés y leer un libro de la biblioteca de Darien, me gustó muchísimo, no lo pude soltar, conocer más acerca de la historia de J.K. Rowling fue increíble, desde quien fue la inspiración del personaje Ron, porqué el auto Ford anglia salva a Harry, así como de forma metafórica salva la vida de Jo cuando era joven, el significado de algunos nombres de personajes, así como quienes fueron a las personas que inspiraron a crear los personajes como Severus y Umbridge y también de cómo Jane Austin influyó en su forma de escribir.

[Hector Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.This book is called Who is J.K. Rowling and the author is Pam Pollack. The book was about J.K. Rowling’s life and the troubles she had before she became famous. Also what happened after she wrote Harry Potter and how she is now.I think that people should read the book especially if you like Harry Potter.
2.The point of the book was to tell about J.K. Rowling’s life. I don’t think the author was trying to say anything other than about Rowling’s life.
3.I felt that it was a good book and that it had a lot of information. I liked the book because it had facts and all the things were true.
4.I would recommend this book to anybody who likes to read autobiographies. Also people who read Harry Potter and want to know more about the person who wrote and came up with the book.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever author. Haven't read Harry Potter books but probably should.

What an achievement, single mother to billionaire!

The first publisher rejected it but an agent by the name of Christopher Little (Joanne liked the name) picked up the first 3 chapter draft from the slush pile before going to a lunch meeting, but the person was late and so he read it and liked it and took her on. The bidding got to six figures in America - who knew they liked English boy wizards?

The K in the name came from her grandmother, Katherine. The publishers didn't think boys would read a book written by a woman. Sad. They should change all new printings to Joanne Katherine Rowling or Joanne Katherine (J.K.) Rowling.

[Mohamed Shoaib · Rating 4 out of 5]

لم اكن انوي كتابة ريفيو للكتاب فهو في حد ذاته ريفيو للكاتبة العظيمة "جوان كاتلين رولينج" التي رسمت بقلمها تحفة ادبية مخلدة ..
لكن الأستاذة نيرة طلبت ولها ما أرادت .
who is/was .. ? الكتيب هو من سلسلة
يختار الكاتب شخصية مشهورة ويحكي بإجاز قصة حياتها .. في هذا الكتاب الشخصية على جي كي رولينج م}لفة السلسلة الأشهر في العالم
على مدار ثمانية فصول يحكي الكاتب عن بداية الرحلة في العالم السحري في حياة رولينج من عام 1995 عندما انتهت من كتابة الرواية الأولى و حتى إطلاقها
pottermore لموقع
يتناول الكتاب بين صفحاته ايضًا الأشياء التي استوحتها رولينج من حياتها الشخصية و حولتها بعصاها السحرية إلى كلمات في رواياتها

حصلت على الكتاب من مكتبة جرير بالدوحة و لم يصادفني في مكتبة بمصر على حد علمي حتى الأن

[Arnavjit Sachdeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I was always a fan of JK Rowling's writing. I was amazed to read her journey from rags to riches . Its a short biography of her life and and an inspirational one beacuse i too desire to be an an author someday!

[Maricarmen Estrada M · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of Jo Rowling's success and all the articles and stories about her life, this version of this wonderful collection does give great details about her life and about the creation of Hatty Potter's characters that I hadn't heard about before.
Just like the rest of biographies of this collection, other details of context from the world are also given, and so they are awesome for kids. Also, this series is a great start for adults that have no previous background on the person featured in the biography.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely rags to riches story! So happy for her actually...

[Muhammad Fitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good inspiration.Dont give up to be a writer.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.K. Rowling is the author who gave us the magical Harry Potter universe. Whether you love her or disagree with her views, her story is truly aspiring. Though I haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series yet, I was interested in Rowling’s journey, from her modest childhood to celebrity status. Therefore, I chose to read Who Is J.K. Rowling? written by Pam Pollack and Meg Belvisom and beautifully illustrated by Stephen Marchesi. This book is an unauthorized biography aimed at younger readers and it is written in a simple yet entertaining manner.

Everybody knows that the idea for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came to Rowling while travelling by train. However, she loved writing and telling stories from a young age, thus she entertained her friends with stories she made up. The passion for writing followed Jo throughout her early adult life and she managed to squeeze a little time to write as often as she could. Writing had a therapeutic effect on Rowling’s mind, especially when she went through though times. Yet, from the moment she had the epiphany about a boy who “had round glasses and a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.” (p. 6), her path slowly led her towards her lifelong dream of becoming an author. Though Rowling had an early life filled with hardship, I admire her perseverance to finish her book.

What I love the most about this biography is that we’re not only following Rowling’s life, but also the journey of the Harry Potter series, from the first spark of inspiration to fandom. There are some interesting pieces of information about Rowling, her bumpy road to publication and the success that affected her and her family. You will also read about the films, Pottermania, Pottermore, Rowling’s charity work and so on. The book contains some brief sidenotes about places and people who influenced or played an important role in Rowling’s growth as a writer, as well as other facts readers may like to know. There is also a timeline of Rowling’s life, a timeline of the world and sources the authors quoted in the book. Furthermore, please bear in mind that this biography contains some spoilers from the Harry Potter books!

“Jo might have finished writing Harry Potter, but chances are that kids will continue to read about him for generations to come. Harry’s world of dragons, castles, and magic wands is truly timeless. Perhaps one day he will take his place among other classic children’s book characters like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, with his story read by children of all ages forever.” (P 101)

Those were my thoughts on Who Is J.K. Rowling?, a short entertaining and informative biography for readers of all ages who love Harry Potter

[Rita Araújo · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://instagram.com/p/BPqJt70FI-A/

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very interesting

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

جی کی رولینگ،
یه الگوی کامله و دنیایی رو ساخته
که توش میشه زندگی کرد...
خوندن زندگیش، یه بار دیگه بهم یاد آوری کرد که میشه از صفر به کجا رسید...
و تصویر سازی های کتاب، خیلی لایتن و فضای بهتری بهش، میدن):
زندگی جو قطعا توی هر بدبختی ارزش، خوندن داره، 🤝

[Adriana Kowalska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting finished in on sitting

[Deyanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho hum. Perhaps informative for children.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this quickly when I abandoned another audio book. I found it a fun listen, but it didn't give any insight that most of us don't already have. I guess I need to find one geared toward adults to learn anything else.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how this biography showed how J.K. Rowling came up with some of the ideas for the Harry Potter story. Very interesting life and path to become a writer.

[Shannon P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook read by Cassandra Campbell
1 hour 5 minutes, unabridged
Bibliography included

I listened to this book with my 8 year old Harry Potter fan when she was having trouble sleeping earlier in the evening. Cassandra Campbell's voice is very pleasant to listen to and easy to understand. The information goes into more detail than just Ms Rowling being the creator of the Harry Potter series and how she came up with the characters. There are details about her personal life and professional life.

[Hissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this book was about the person who create the great magical world of Harry Potter. It's about the person who made my childhood 10 times better than it is. This book tells the story of my favorite women/author of all times. J. K Rowling.
I mean J. K Rowling creat a whole new world??? With interesting characters?? And omg great plot twists. I love her.
I enjoyed this short book, I wish it was longer tho...

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little biography for kids and adults:) I enjoyed reading this after my daughter did. My daughter has to do a "live" biography report and chose J.K. Rowling. So she has to be able to answer various questions about her life and dress and act like her. She is very excited and this book was perfect for it.

[Annie Risher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this 5 stars because it explained how Rowling came up with many of her ideas, which affected me personally, because her characters inspire me. When she spoke about her work, it made me giggle, because my dad is reading me her books for bedtime stories. I learned where she came up with the ideas, and I found out that I can find great ideas in everyday life too.

[Anna Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In class we are doing a biography essay. I picked up this book to get some background knowledge on J.K. Rowling before my real biography arrived at the library. It was very interesting because I didn't know anything about J.K. Rowling except for her creating the Harry Potter books and living in Scotland. It was interesting for me to discover the hard times she went through.

[Emma Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay, so of course this was great because it is all about the best author ever. I know that it is written for children but I wanted to read it because I knew I could finish it in one day which would help with my reading challenge that I am VERY behind on.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read. It was an okay book for a little kid and I definitely learned something new about her, but I didn't enjoy it.

[Tyresa F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this story was about the person who made harry potter. i really like this book because it tell me about the person who made my favorite movie and book

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was interesting. I think it is interesting because it tells you about J. K. Rowling's life and how harry potter came to be. I LOVED it!!!

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good and it didn't take too long to finish. It's about J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, I talks about her life and how she made up Harry and his friends.

[Jahnavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read for young readers . The simple explanation of incidents make reading joyful.. Illustrations are also good . Quick and Easy book. Liked it ,altogether a nice book .