Review and Giveaway: “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection” from Insight Editions
Are you an avid Quidditch fan? Do magical modes of transportation fascinate you? Are you curious about the variety of flying broomsticks featured in the Potter series? Do you want another cool addition to your collection of Harry Potter companion books? Then Harry Potter: The Broom Collection written by Jody Revenson and published by Insight Editions is the book for you, and it makes for a great companion to my copy of Quidditch Through The Ages.
Designed like a coffee table book, it has a beautiful hardcover in Slytherin green, its dimensions of 12 x 6 inches, and the slightly raised text and illustration of a broom on its cover caught my eye immediately. A sequel to Harry Potter: The Wand Collection, the book follows a layout of an image or illustration on one page with relevant text about it on its facing page and that assuredly kept my attention glued to it the entire time. There is a broom index at the end of the book, a handy overview of all the major types of brooms crafted and owned by the wizarding world.
A section divider page from “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection”
I loved finding out the little details and personal touches the concept artists and prop makers put into the design of each broom. For example, flamboyant Nymphadora Tonks has colorful branches throughout the bristle head of her broom, Muggle-obsessed Arthur Weasley has the pedals and basket of a non-magical bicycle attached to his broom, and renegade Auror Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody’s broom is reminiscent of a showy chopper motorbike.
Alastor Moody’s broom from a page of “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection”
The book delves into early broom designs and broom makers, sellers, and advertisements, going on to talk about the training brooms we saw in Harry’s first flying lesson and the one Harry uses to catch the winged keys. The book includes information on the filming setup and anecdotes of actors interacting with the props.
The book talks about the sport of Quidditch in some detail, and it’s interesting to see how the need to portray the sport effectively – dangerous, fast, and cool – is transformed into some stunning prop designs.
Broom advertisements from a page of “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection”
A page on filming the Quidditch scenes in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” from “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection”
We get acquainted with the brooms belonging to each prominent character shown to possess one with a foldout page for the Weasley twins’ brooms and look at the fine details and embellishments added to the Firebolt to make it look as grand as it is. Not only does the book have a section on a Quidditch Equipment Crate and the Hogwarts trophies for the sport but also an entire 18-page section dedicated to Quidditch uniforms and fan wear featuring a cameo of Luna Lovegood’s Gryffindor lion hat.
I got excited seeing 16 pages dedicated to professional Quidditch and the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, for it is at the world cup where we first glimpse a bigger picture of the wizarding world, both in terms of geography as well as sports and their interpersonal connections. This section features some brilliant illustrations of Quidditch posters and paraphernalia. Did you know? The board game version of Quidditch called the “Snitch Snatcher!” was seen played by the Weasley twins in the Great Hall in one of the deleted scenes from the third film.
The book highlights prominent scenes featuring brooms or flying in the Order of the Phoenix, the battle of the seven Potters, and the escape from the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts. Not stopping there, it also talks about Auror brooms and brooms found in Place Cachée (the French equivalent of Diagon Alley) in the Fantastic Beasts installments.
Possibly one of my favorite sections in this book is the blueprints. As a product designer in my muggle life, the drafts and blueprints for the brooms caught my eye. It mentions the details that went into the construction of the actual brooms, from the materials used to the joinery and finish, and how well the broom designs are justified for each character or purpose.
The escape from the Room of Requirement page from “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection “
A page on broom blueprints from “Harry Potter: The Broom Collection”
I expected to read more about the history of brooms, how the first flying broom came to be, and how it evolved into what it is today. Since the book has focused much on Quidditch related facts, I would have liked a little bit on how it compares to the other modes of wizarding transport, but overall it is a satisfying and entertaining read.
One lucky winner will receive a copy of Harry Potter: The Broom Collection from Insight Editions. Our contest is open worldwide, starting October 26, running through November 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Enter through the Rafflecopter below! The winner will be contacted via email after November 2, so make sure to check your junk or spam folders just in case our e-owl goes astray. The winner must respond within 24 hours, or another winner may be chosen.
A copy of Harry Potter: The Broom Collection was provided by Insight Editions. All opinions belong to the reviewer.