Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

When we were kids, all my little brother ever wanted for his birthday was a dog.  For years he asked for one – and was gifted statues of dogs, stuffed animals, and a trio of cockatiels instead – until he finally received a puppy he named Shadow.

Since Harry Potter didn’t get to celebrate his birthday very often, I wonder what he would have wished for as a birthday gift. Would he have wanted a magical creature for a pet?  If I were Harry, I think I’d want a Puffskein – one of its favorite things to do is stick its tongue up sleeping wizards’ noses to eat their boogers!

Celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday this year with a few magical creatures in books or meet some real-life animals at one of our magical creature programs in a library near you!

In The Golden Compass, all human souls in take the form of animal companions called daemons, which accompany their human wherever they go.

The action in Jinx kicks off when a wizard saves Jinx from the clutches of the trolls in the Urwald. He encounters many more magical creatures as he learns about his own magical powers.

The magical creatures in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe still inspire cheers as they help the Pevensie children defeat the White Witch.

In Skellig, the magical creature is not part of some far-off magical world but is found inside the messy garage of 10-year-old Michael’s new home.

If you could create a magical creature, what kind of creature would you choose?