Of
course, in the wizarding world, pictures move, but
now readers can experience
even this through the Kindle
in Motion version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
When readers open the ebook for the first time, they immediately see
steam swirling up from the Hogwarts Express
as Harry stands in awe, watching an owl flapping above him. As
readers scroll through the book, they discover the cat version of
Professor McGonagall twitching her tail as she reads a map; Hagrid
revving up Sirius Black's motorcycle and flying across the night sky;
Hogwarts letters slipping through the Dursleys' nailed up mail slot
and flying around the room; Harry and Hagrid in a
rocking rowboat with waves splashing around them and seagulls
flapping above; and
a Goblin examining a large ruby (ch.
1, 3, 5). Professor
Dumbledore cocks his head affably in his portrait as he reaches into
his bag of sherbet lemons, but Professor Snape is much more menacing
as he glares out at readers who are quick to notice slithering
snakes, misting potions, and bubbling jars behind him (ch.
6, 8).
Ghosts
of all kinds dash before readers' eyes, making
them as startled as the Hogwarts first-years,
and the Sorting Hat moves as it speaks to Harry (ch.
7). Harry himself moves as
he races the Slytherin Seeker to catch the Golden Snitch, and Draco
shows off his own flying abilities as he swoops in to catch Neville's
Remembrall (ch. 11, 9).
In Harry's
final adventure beneath the school, readers watch as he falls through
the trapdoor (ch. 16).
Then they see the flying
keys darting across the page and finally Voldemort himself as he
peaks out from beneath Quirrell's turban (ch.
16, 17). Indeed, the magic
of technology meets the magical world to enable readers to expand
their horizons once again and delve ever deeper into the story of
Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts, becoming
magical insiders who feel at home in
the wizarding universe.
What happens, then, when readers
finally return to the original American edition of Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?
Since their
horizons of expectation have been greatly expanded, they view
the familiar text in new and interesting ways, and
they are now more deeply immersed in the wizarding world than ever
before. British words may
now repeat in their minds as they see “sneakers” and think
“trainers” or read “off his rocker” and remember “barking.”
Images, too, float through their
minds as they read about
Diagon Alley and remember Jim Kay's detailed drawings, recall Ron
Weasley's slightly miffed expression, or envision Harry standing
before the Mirror of Erised. Some of these images even move, just
like real wizarding world pictures, and readers may well think of
Snape's glare or
Voldemort's red eyes appearing as Quirrell unwraps his turban. The
original text, that first version of Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone, is no longer
the same for readers. They now expect more, and they imagine more as
they read. Their horizons of expectation have grown and changed as
they encountered new versions
of the text and moved from
outsiders to insiders in the magical
universe through words,
images, and magical motion.
Works
Cited
Boboltz,
Sara. “Why 'Philosopher' Became 'Sorcerer' in the 'Harry Potter'
Books.” Huffpost,
26 June 2017,
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-philosophers-stone-became-sorcerers-stone_us_
59514346e4b05c37bb78466e.
Bressler,
Charles E. Literary
Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice,
2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 1999.
Olson,
Edward, et al. “Differences between British and US Versions of PS.”
The Harry Potter
Lexicon,
25 Aug. 2001,
https://www.hp-lexicon.org/2001/08/25/differences-between-british-and-us- versions-of-ps/.
Rowling, J.K. Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Illustrated by Jim Kay, Scholastic, 2015.
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Illustrated
by Jim Kay, Kindle in Motion edition, Scholastic, 2017.
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