HARRY POTTER Kids give thumbs up to 2 books

Proceeds from the minibooks go to children's charities.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
After four wildly successful Harry Potter books, the author J.K. Rowling released not one but two new minibooks as companions for the Potter series last week.
So we gave the books to two local "experts" on the Potter books -- kids, of course -- to give us their thoughts on the new books.
Zach and Jordan McFerren, a fifth- and a sixth-grader at Goshen Elementary School outside of Damascus, have both read all four of the books in the series and offered these comments on the new ones:
"Quidditch Through the Ages," is an in-depth look at Harry Potter's favorite sport, Quidditch, which is played at the wizardry school which he attends.
Comments: "The book helped me to visualize how the game is played and what the field looked like. It was nice having a drawing of what a snidget looks like. I liked how it told about the rules and the fouls" of the game, wrote Zach.
"I thought it could have been longer," Zach added, "but overall, I thought it was pretty good."
The other book, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," is supposed to be one of Harry's school books on magical creatures.
"I feel that the book ties in to the other four books, because it refers to all of the beasts ... and even more," wrote Jordan.
She noted that "Fantastic Beasts" links to the earlier books in its style and content -- including "the writing and the funny comments," which echo aspects of the series.
All proceeds from sales of these books go to children's charities around the world.
And at $3.99, all fans of the books will thoroughly enjoy the insight into the magical world of Harry Potter.
The books are meant to help fill the void for Muggles [people] until the release of the movie, "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone," in mid-November. The movie is being directed by Warren's own Chris Columbus.
XWant to know what the experts say? Check out today's Books page, F8.