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Born to Peter and Anne on July 31st, 1965, Joanne grew up in England and in southeast Wales. Jo has been married two times; the first was in 1992 to Jorge Arantes with whom she had one daughter, Jessica, with. This marriage was short lived and ended in 1995. In 2001, Jo married again to Neil Murray. Neil and Jo have two children, David and Mackenzie. In 1990, after graduating from Exeter University, Jo moved to  Portugal to teach English. This is where she met her first husband, Jorge. After their divorce, Jo and Jessica moved Edinburgh. Here, they lived on welfare and Jo struggled to make ends meet. This is when she began working on her first series, the Harry Potter series. Joanne uses the surname J.K for her writing which stands for Joanne Kathleen. Joanne does not have a middle name but decided to use the name of her grandmother. The reason she goes by J.K was at the advise of a publisher. The idea of a female author might not sell as well. It is hard to know if the change of her name made a difference in her sells.

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Across the many books Jo has written and had published, she never has only one theme appear. Friendship is a theme that seems to make an appearance in every book she has written. Some of the other themes that Jo tends to write with are bravery, death, sacrifice, love, right from wrong, good versus evil, choices, courage, persistence, and discovery of “who am I?”.

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In 1997, Jo's life changed forever as the creation of a boy named Harry Potter hit the world. In 1998, Harry Potter his the United States but this time under a different name, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In 2001, Harry Potter became real as Daniel Radcliffe gave the boy everyone loved a face.

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It could be argued that Jo's journey began the day she was brought into this world. Every experience she had, lead her to the place she is now. If looked at deeper and the question of "where did her Harry Potter journey begin?" then you'd have an entirely different answer. Sitting on a delayed train from Manchester to London King’s Cross, Jo started to create the idea of a boy named Harry Potter. It took five more years of note taking, character creating, and location deciding for her to map out the entire seven book series. When she had divorced her first husband and moved north, she became a teacher. On her free time, she still wrote. She sent the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to many different companies. One company in particular, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, responded asking for more. In 1997, her life changed forever as Harry Potter made his debut to the world.

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Jo wanted to be a writer from a very young age. She was raised in a household surrounded by books. As she states, "I was your basic common-or-garden bookworm, complete with freckles and National Health spectacles.”. Jo's first book ever was a story about a rabbit, she wrote this at age 6. By the age of 11, she wrote her first novel. She always had a love and a drive for writing. Her path took her in many directions and she traveled many roads, which is believed to have been a benefit for the series she would be writing in her future. It wasn't until later in life, as a single, struggle mother, that Jo finally sat down to write her first novel for publication.

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"The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. Given every other year by IBBY, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are presented to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature." As pulled from http://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/awards/hans-christian-andersen-awards/?L=0

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JK Rowling has become the first winner of a new Danish award, the Hans Christian Andersen literature prize. The author accepted the 500,000 kroner (£60,000) award yesterday at a ceremony in Odense, Denmark, the birthplace of the fairy tale writer.

Rowling said she was "humbled and deeply honoured" to receive the prize, saying "Hans Christian Andersen is a writer I revere, because his work was of that rare order that seems to transcend authorship," and praising Andersen's "indestructible, eternal characters."

The prize is given to a writer whose work can be compared to that of Andersen, suggesting that figures in Rowling's own fiction such as Harry Potter, Hagrid, Dumbledore or Draco Malfoy are expected, by the judges at least, to have the enduring appeal of Andersen's Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina or Little Mermaid.

Certainly JK Rowling and Andersen have one, peculiarly modern, feature in common: both have inspired theme parks, Andersen's in Shanghai and Rowling's Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida.

The new prize is distinct from the Hans Christian Andersen medal, sometimes dubbed the "Nobel Prize for children's literature", which was awarded to David Almond earlier this year.
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JK Rowling wins Hans Christian Andersen literature award

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JK Rowling has become the first winner of a new Danish award, the Hans Christian Andersen literature prize. The author accepted the 500,000 kroner (£60,000) award yesterday at a ceremony in Odense, Denmark, the birthplace of the fairy tale writer.

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"The WH Smith Literary Award is an award founded in 1959 by British high street retailer W H Smith. It founding aim was stated to be to "encourage and bring international esteem to authors of the British Commonwealth"; originally open to all residents of the UK, the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland, it latterly admitted foreign works in translation and works by US authors." As pulled from https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/WH%20Smith%20Literary%20Award

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In what WH Smith describes as a "radical approach to book prizes", members of the public will vote for the winners of the first WH Smith Book Awards.

The longlists for the eight new categories were compiled by panels of experts, customers and celebrities. Shortlisted titles include White Teeth by Zadie Smith in the New Talent category, the second volume of Ian Kershaw's Hitler biography, and Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope for the Fiction prize. There's a strong shortlist in the bizarrely named 'General Knowledge' category (how to decide between Peter Ackroyd's monumental London and David Bodanis's E=MC2?), while Prince Charles has been nominated in the Home and Leisure section. Each of the winners will receive £5,000 in prize money.

And now it's up to you. You can vote for your chosen books online, by post or at any branch of WH Smith. If you don't like any of the books on the shortlists, you can nominate new titles. The titles with the most votes will win.

However, while the great unwashed are allowed to air their views on Joanna Trollope and Maeve Binchy in the Fiction Award, the ninth "literary" prize will remain the preserve of the critics. The judging panel for the WHSmith Literary Award, now in its 43rd year, includes the academic John Carey, writer and critic Lucy Hughes-Hallett and journalist and broadcaster Mark Lawson.

In the first year that the award has been opened up to American writers, both Philip Roth for the much-lauded The Human Stain and John Updike for the less well-received Hamlet prequel Gertrude and Claudius are included on the list. They are joined by British writers Robert Edric for The Book of the Heathen, a Heart-of-Darkness tale of Victorian colonialism and murder in the Belgian Congo, and Helen Simpson for her quirky and most unmaternal collection of short stories about motherhood, Hey Yeah Right Get a Life. Canadian writer Alistair MacLeod rounds off the shortlist for his elegant novel No Great Mischief, about Canada's Celtic roots.

The winners of all nine awards will be announced on 26th April.

Fiction
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
Marrying the Mistress, Joanna Trollope
Scarlet Feather, Maeve Binchy
The Night Listener, Armistead Maupin
The Wrong Boy, Willy Russell

New Talent
E., Matt Beaumont
Ice Station, Matthew Reilly
Marrow, Tiffanie Darke
What We Did On Our Holiday, John Harding
White Teeth, Zadie Smith

Home and Leisure
Designer Know How, Anne McKevitt
How to be a Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson
Seafood Lovers' Guide, Rick Stein
The Garden at Highgrove, HRH The Prince of Wales and Candida Lycett Green
The Return of the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver

Biography/Autobiography
A Mad World My Masters - Tales from a Traveller's Life, John Simpson
Branson, Tom Bower
Elizabeth, David Starkey
Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, Ian Kershaw
Queen Victoria - A Personal History, Christopher Hibbert

Travel Writing
Corsairville, Graham Coster
Down Under, Bill Bryson
Last of the Medicine Men, Benedict Allen
Let's Get Lost , Craig Nelson
Next Exit Magic Kingdom, Rory MacLean

Business
Amazon.com / Get Big Fast, Robert Spector
Can Japan Compete?, Michael Porter
Generation Entrepreneur, Stuart Crainer & Des Dearlove
Leading the Revolution, Gary Hamel
The Rich and How They Got That Way, Cynthia Crossen

General Knowledge
A History of Britain, Simon Schama
Civilisations, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto
E=MC2, David Bodanis
In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick
London: The Biography, Peter Ackroyd

Children's Book of the Year
Bad Dreams, Anne Fine
Charmed Life, Diana Wynne Jones
Cirque Du Freak, Darren Shan
The Giggler Treatment, Roddy Doyle
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling

Literary Award
No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
The Book of the Heathen by Robert Edric
Hey Yeah Right Get a Life by Helen Simpson
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike
Topics

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In what WH Smith describes as a "radical approach to book prizes", members of the public will vote for the winners of the first WH Smith Book Awards. The longlists for the eight new categories were compiled by panels of experts, customers and celebrities.

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"Nestlé Children’s Book Prize was also called the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and was awarded to a UK author of works for children’s literature from 1985 to 2007, when the award was discontinued." As pulled from https://goldmedalbooks.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/nestle-childrens-book-prize/

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harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban

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Nestles Smarties Prize Children's Literature Awards presented by the Youth Libraries Group of the UK. The Nestle Smarties Prize is awarded to the most outstanding book published in the UK

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"The Companion of Honour is a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time." As pulled from https://www.royal.uk/companion-honour

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been made a Companion of Honour by the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace.

The 52-year-old said she felt "deeply honoured and proud" to get the award.

"To be included in the distinguished and diversely talented company of the other Companions of Honour, especially as a female writer, is a particular privilege," she said in a statement.

Membership of the Order of the Companions of Honour is a special award held by only 65 people at any one time.

Established in 1917 by George V, it recognises services of national importance.

Rowling, whose first name is Joanne, was awarded an OBE in 2001.

The best-selling writer was accompanied by her doctor husband Neil Murray at the Palace on Tuesday.

Rowling was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours alongside cookery expert Delia Smith, who received her award in a ceremony last month.

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and designer Sir Terence Conran were also announced to join Rowling and Smith in the Order, but are yet to formally receive their honours.

Tuesday's investiture ceremony also saw composer and conductor Sir George Benjamin receive his knighthood for services to music.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk .

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been made a Companion of Honour by the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace. The 52-year-old said she felt "deeply honoured and proud" to get the award. "To be included in the distinguished and diversely talented company of the other Companions of Honour, especially as a female writer, is a particular privilege," she said in a statement.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

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Rowling, J. K., author. Harry Potter And the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York :Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999. Print.
Year three is not off to the best start when Harry uses magic outside of Hogwarts to blow up his aunt. Harry knows that using magic outside of school is forbidden and knows he probably is going to be expelled now. After blowing up his aunt like a balloon, Harry packs his bag and leaves his aunt and uncles house. He has this odd feeling that something, maybe someone even, is watching him. He ended up getting surprised by a magical bus that picks up stranded witches and wizards. The bus takes him to a temporary location where the Weasley's (Ron's family) and other friends are. He learns that he is not going to be expelled and he will be returning to Hogwarts for another year. Mr. Weasley approaches Harry and warns him of a wizard who is said to be a Dark Lord sympathizer. He will most likely be trying to come after Harry. Through this school year, Harry learns that Black, the wizard who escaped from Azkaban (the wizardry prison), was his parents friends. It is believed that he used Harry's parents trust to lead the Dark Lord to them and have them killed. In the end, Harry learns that Black wasn't the one who did his parents wrong, it was another friend who was hiding as a rat, Ron's rat nonetheless. Harry discovers he actually has a Godfather who was wrongly accused.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 

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Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter And the Chamber of Secrets. New York :Scholastic, Inc., 2000. Print.
As year two approaches, Harry meets a house elf who is trying to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts. Harry doesn't want to listen to the elf named Dobby because Harry feels like Hogwarts is his home. He wishes he could stay there all year long and never have to return to his aunt and uncles house. After missing the train to Hogwarts, Harry and his best friend Ron decide to take Ron's dad's flying car to Hogwarts. Aside from being sighted by a dozen muggles and almost being hit by a train, they also were almost killed on Hogwarts property after crashing into a very old tree that is, of course, also magical. During this school year, Harry finds a journal that writes back to him and shows him things he's wondering. What Harry doesn't know is this journal, the one who belongs to Tom Riddle, is actually Lord Voldemort in young, preserved form. Harry was not prepared for the year he was about to have and yet again, coming face to face with the Dark Lord in a different form, fighting for not only his life, but the life of his friends too.

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Rowling, J. K., author. Harry Potter And the Goblet of Fire. New York :Scholastic, 2002.
Year four is going to be one for the books for Harry. There is a competition that brings two other schools to Hogwarts for the year long competition. There will be celebrations, dances, mingling, and more. How much better could it get? Until the choosing ceremony. Candidates who are of age and want to compete need to put their name in the Goblet of Fire. During the choosing ceremony, the goblet will choose a player from each school to compete. When Harry's, who's underage, name is chosen, everyone gets very angry at him, even his best friend who thought Harry did it without telling him. It is believed later that someone put Harry's name in the Goblet, a very powerful wizard in order to get away with it, to get Harry killed. The games were not easy and sometimes witches and wizards died. At the end of the games, Harry and the other Hogwarts student finish together. They instantly are transported to a cemetery where they are face to face with THE Lord Voldemort. His follower, Peter Pettigrew who was Harry's parent's friend, recreated the Dark Lord using certain pieces to make the spell. The Dark Lord killed Diggory, the boy who was transported with Harry and then tried to killed Harry in a battle. When they began to battle, their wands connected and people from Harry's past appeared as ghosts. With their help, Harry was able to escape and get back to Hogwarts.

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Harry Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone. New York :Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998.
When Harry Potter turns 11, his seemingly normal, yet horrible life takes a turn when he learns that everything he thought he knew about himself, was a lie. Days before his 11th birthday, odd things started happening in Harry's life. Soon after he turns 11, a very large man named Hagrid appears at his aunt and uncles house to collect Harry and take him to Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards to learn how to harness their powers and learn all they need to know about the wizardry world. Harry quickly learns that his mom and dad were not killed in a car accident like his aunt and uncle had told him, instead they had been murdered by a dark wizard, Lord Voldemort who also tried to kill him, this is where his scar on his forehead came from. Through entering this new world and new school, Harry learns that he actually is very famous for defeating the Dark Lord at such a young age. He befriends two students, Ron and Hermione, who teach him about family, love, friendship, loyalty, and more. Soon, Harry learns about a stone that he thinks the Dark Lord is trying to get to. Once again, Harry finds himself battling the Dark Lord who is not quite in human form. Through courage, a sense of right versus wrong, and love, Harry is able to come out of the battle alive.

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I believe that finding an age range really depends on the student and the parents, however, focusing on the Harry Potter Series, from the research I have gathered, this series seems to have an age range between 9-12. There are many things to take into consideration when looking at this series. First, there is the age of the main characters; Because they begin the series at the age of 11, there is more of a connection created between the reader and the characters. Next, when you take a look at the themes that are presented across the series, there is also a connection with mid-level students. Discovering themselves, making choices, knowing right from wrong, being loyal to the ones you love…etc., all of these themes are things that students in the mid-level experience as they are making the change from a young child into a young adult. Finally, I believe that these novels belong in this age range because of the life lessons that present themselves throughout the novels. If the magic is completely taken away, it’s a story about a boy who is trying to figure out who he is, what kind of person he wants to become, fighting for what’s right to him, and above all, friendship.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Lexile Level: 880L

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Lexile Level: 940L

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Lexile Level: 880L

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Lexile Level: 880L

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Lexile Level: 950L

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Lexile Level: 1030L

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Lexile Level: 980L

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When thinking about the odds split between at home reading and actual school assigned reading, there’s a such a tough call to make because of the series we are looking at. A lot of controversy is brought up when discussing the Harry Potter Series due to their use of wizardry and sometimes seemingly violent scenes. It is argued that this series should not be used in schools because of the teaching students about things that take away from or contradict some religions. Does this mean that the series should not be used anyways in the schools to expose students to all of the benefits that appear in the series? Not hardly. In her thesis, Mary Vaughn discusses the many benefits to using the Harry Potter Series in the classroom (this thesis can be found at: https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=honors_theses).

Some of the ways a teacher can use this series to teach various things in the classroom is as follows: Multiculturalism, themes, voice, character development, and much more. In her article Applications in the Classroom: The Potential of Scholarly Studies in Harry Potter in Higher Education, Anne Smith discusses the benefits of using the Harry Potter series in even higher-level teaching stating, “It raises thought-provoking topics that can serve as the basis for research papers and class presentations, as well as providing important resources for students to use while conducting such research.”. (Article can be found at http://journaldialogue.org/issues/applications-in-the-classroom-the-potential-of-scholarly-studies-in-harry-potter-in-higher-education/)

I think there are too many benefits that outweigh the controversies of these novels to not use them in the classroom. Although teachers may tend to stay away from these novels because of the heat they might receive, I still believe that the odds split will be 70% of students will read it at home for pleasure and 30% of students will be assigned this in a classroom setting