What do you think?
Pocket Potters #7
Pocket Potters: Dobby
Calling Harry Potter fans! Read all about Dobby in the POCKET POTTERS series, the completely collectible, fully illustrated, must-have official guides to all your favorite characters from the wizarding world.
When did Dobby first meet Harry Potter? Why are socks his absolute favorite, and how did he get a job at Hogwarts? Find out all this and much more about Dobby, everyone's favorite mischievous house-elf with a heart of gold!
Joyfully illustrated, boisterously brilliant, the POCKET POTTERS are collectible, must-have official guides to the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. Whether you are just starting your magical reading journey or you already know your Wheezy from your Weasley, each of the POCKET POTTERS is perfect for sharing together or reading independently.
When did Dobby first meet Harry Potter? Why are socks his absolute favorite, and how did he get a job at Hogwarts? Find out all this and much more about Dobby, everyone's favorite mischievous house-elf with a heart of gold!
Joyfully illustrated, boisterously brilliant, the POCKET POTTERS are collectible, must-have official guides to the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. Whether you are just starting your magical reading journey or you already know your Wheezy from your Weasley, each of the POCKET POTTERS is perfect for sharing together or reading independently.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2026
About the author
J.K. Rowling
745 books236k followersSee also: Robert Galbraith
Although she writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling, pronounced like rolling, her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She calls herself Jo and has said, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry." Following her marriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. In a 2012 interview, Rowling noted that she no longer cared that people pronounced her name incorrectly.
Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling (née Volant), on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. Her mother's maternal grandfather, Dugald Campbell, was born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mother's paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.
Rowling's sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee." At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind," gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.
Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, "I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life." She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, "Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I'm not particularly proud of." Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English." Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.
Although she writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling, pronounced like rolling, her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She calls herself Jo and has said, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry." Following her marriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. In a 2012 interview, Rowling noted that she no longer cared that people pronounced her name incorrectly.
Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling (née Volant), on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. Her mother's maternal grandfather, Dugald Campbell, was born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mother's paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.
Rowling's sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee." At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind," gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.
Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, "I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life." She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, "Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I'm not particularly proud of." Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English." Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Read
August 18, 2026Preslatko 💌
October 1, 2026
Dobby is FREE
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
With thanks to the authors, publishers Bloomsbury Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC sampler of this book in exchange for my honest review.
NOTE: This review is for a sampler, and not for the complete book.
These Pocket Potters are a wonderful introduction to those readers not already familiar with the world of Harry Potter. Particularly for younger readers, these little guides will serve to make the original novels (which are quite lengthy, with a complex array of characters) that bit more accessible.
The illustrations are beautiful, vibrant, and fun, and contain a lot of information without being overwhelming. For those that have read the novels, the quotes as well as the many hidden details from the novels that are contained in the illustrations are a nice touch and will be fun to discover.
NOTE: This review is for a sampler, and not for the complete book.
These Pocket Potters are a wonderful introduction to those readers not already familiar with the world of Harry Potter. Particularly for younger readers, these little guides will serve to make the original novels (which are quite lengthy, with a complex array of characters) that bit more accessible.
The illustrations are beautiful, vibrant, and fun, and contain a lot of information without being overwhelming. For those that have read the novels, the quotes as well as the many hidden details from the novels that are contained in the illustrations are a nice touch and will be fun to discover.
September 17, 2026
4 stars — A bright, fun addition to the Pocket Potters series
Pocket Potters: Dobby, illustrated by Helen Brady and published by Bloomsbury, is a lovely little guide to Dobby from the Harry Potter stories. I received a sampler of this one from the publisher.
The illustrations are bright, colourful, and full of character, capturing Dobby's personality well throughout. One small note: the cover design is a little different from how Dobby is portrayed in the films and books, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the book itself.
It's easy to read and follow, making it perfect for younger Harry Potter fans, and it's another great addition to the Pocket Potters series. 4 stars
Pocket Potters: Dobby, illustrated by Helen Brady and published by Bloomsbury, is a lovely little guide to Dobby from the Harry Potter stories. I received a sampler of this one from the publisher.
The illustrations are bright, colourful, and full of character, capturing Dobby's personality well throughout. One small note: the cover design is a little different from how Dobby is portrayed in the films and books, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the book itself.
It's easy to read and follow, making it perfect for younger Harry Potter fans, and it's another great addition to the Pocket Potters series. 4 stars
September 24, 2026
In this 7th book of the series, we focus not on people or witches but on an elf, the house elf who helps Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts and beyond. The book does not cover the entirety of Dobby's life. Still, another winner!
Review of advance copy
5/5 ⭐️
September 3, 2026
Ok wait I had no idea these were even a thing!!?? Such a cute insight to DOBBY and now I’m going to hunt down the others.
It’s HP season 🥹🥹
It’s HP season 🥹🥹
September 4, 2026
Love this book!
September 5, 2026
Dobby is one of my favorite characters in the book. Love these mini collections.
September 28, 2026
Cute, as always!
October 4, 2026
Dobby is a free Elf
I still get a bit emotional when thinking of Dobby. A true friend to Harry. I am glad this book doesn’t mention his death.
I still get a bit emotional when thinking of Dobby. A true friend to Harry. I am glad this book doesn’t mention his death.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews