Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

 

Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school...

 

I really like that we took a break from the Voldemort plotline, and got a better look at Harry's parent's past. It added to his character arc in such a unique way, because this is the first book that I have felt like Harry was able to be well and truly happy. Knowing even just these small parts of his past (and things like why his father was nicknamed prongs-- fab!) seemed to add pieces to his own identity, enough to change his entire demeanor. And I was so happy for him, finally having Sirius and Lupin to look to as proper family--people who he knows really care about him. I love that part on the last page where Harry tells the Dursleys about Sirius, saying, "He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of Wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though . . . keep up with my news . . .check if I'm happy . . ."

 

 

 
A few other things I liked are the Marauder's Map--which is fantastic! I want one. I love the time-turner part, it is brilliant and made the latter part of the book into very suspenseful reading.  Enjoy!! :)

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl's bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble beings, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself.

This is one of my lest favourite books in the series. I’m not a big fan of the giant spider detour, and to be blunt, Dobby the house-elf is somewhat irritating as well as Professor Lockhart. On the other hand, the Chamber of Secrets is a thrilling mystery, and I love the storyline with Tom Riddle’s old diary, which seems to be a magical revelation into the past, but turns out to be something much more sinister. I remember being amazed by the twist at the end when we discover the other, more famous identity of handsome, popular golden boy Tom Riddle.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter. Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I read this for the first time when I was 9. My mum read a chapter to me at bedtime. I found the story magical and loved Hogwarts. I would love to eat feasts in Great Hall, learn spells and have fun with Harry, Ron and Hermione!  See you all on Platform nine and three quarters! :)  

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

We click our heels in anticipation.  There's no place like home and no movie like this one.  From generation to generation, The Wizard of Oz brings us together - children, adults, families and friends.  The dazzling land of Oz, a dream-come-true world of enchanted forests, dancing scarecrows and singing lions, wraps us in its magic with one great song-filled adventure after another.  Based on L. Frank Baum's treasured book series, The Wizard of Oz was judged the best family film of all time by the American Film Institute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I invite you to embark for the Emerald City on the most famous road in movie history.  Dorothy (Judy Garland), Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Woodman (Jack Haley) and Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) await you on the Yellow Brick Road and Over the Rainbow. xx

 

Elf (2003)

 

 

 

Christmas family comedy directed by independent filmmaker Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf. Brought up by Santa (Edward Asner) and his elves at the North Pole, Buddy has spent the last 30 years happily working in Santa's toy workshop. But when his ungainly size starts to become a liability in the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York City to find his biological father (James Caan). Needless to say, the unlikely spectacle of a 6'5' man dressed from head to foot in bright green stands out a mile on the streets of the Big Apple, and the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings - and they get used to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have fun! :) xx

Father Christmas Animation (1991)

 

 

 

 

An endearingly popular animated Christmas tale from the children's author Raymond Briggs. Father Christmas (voiced by Mel Smith) is a rather grumpy old soul who just wants a quiet holiday away from it all. Unfortunately, everywhere he goes he is recognised by a small child. When the holiday is over, it's back to the grindstone, and he's off on his whirlwind Christmas Eve delivery tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a magical and special animation that I watch with my family at Christmas. :) xx