Their World's Coming to Life

   The Harry Potter series as well as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings both have been made into movies.  The Harry Potter series has a total of eight films.  The first part of The Hobbit was released this past year; and TheLord of the Rings has a total of three movies.  These films all received fairly good reviews, and were all hits at the box office.  The directors and producers of these films were able to take Rowling and Tolkien's worlds and bring them to life.  Fans and audiences were amazed when they saw Hogwarts, and the Shire on the big screen.  Most believe that movies are never as good as the actual book, and sadly I personally agree.  Usually a movie leaves out many parts from the books.  Although it is still great to have a world you have read about for so long be put on a screen.

   Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida created a Harry Potter theme park.  It includes Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Owlery, and more.  Also certain schools are starting quidditch teams.  Players run around a field with broom sticks, chasing a person dressed in all gold.  The person in gold represents the snitch.  Both series have also been made into video games. 

https://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/?ref_=sr_2

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Fantasy Worlds

    Both J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien created their own fantasy worlds in their novels.  Rowling created the wizarding world.  While Tolkien created Middle Earth.  Both authors put extreme amounts of detail into their creations.  Readers of these stories were able to picture these worlds as if they were real. 
    In Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling created magical towns, schools, villages, games, and even train stations.  Her creativity and precision made the reader feel as if they could be apart of this world.  Hogwarts the magical school; was a castle filled ghosts, moving paintings, moving staircases, and secret passageways.  Outside the castle was the Forbidden Forest where all different creatures lived.  Diagon Alley is a town where all the wizards and witches go to shop.  Quidditch is the magical game that wizards and witches play, while flying on brooms.  To create this whole detailed magical world J.K. Rowling has to have an unbelievable imagination.  Fans fell so in love with the world she created, that now people are trying to create it in our world.  Universal opened a Harry Potter theme park in 2010. 
   In The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien created a medieval fantasy world.  Middle Earth was filled with all different types of creatures. Certain creatures were strong and noble, while others were dark and evil.  There are several different parts to Middle Earth.  There is Mordor, Gondor, Rohan, the Shire, and many other sections.  Each section is home to different creatures.  Tolkien was very precise when he describes the creatures in his stories.  The reader was able to visualize exactly what a goblin, hobbit, or elf looks like.  Tolkien made the reader feel like they were with Bilbo or Frodo helping them along their journey. 
http://www.middleearth.com/
http://www.hswcw.com/

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Background of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings

   John Ronald Reuel Tolkien wrote The Hobbit before The Lord of the Rings.  Both stories take place in a fantasy world called Middle Earth; in what seems to be medieval times.  Middle Earth is home for many types of creatures.  Men, women, wizards, elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, and goblins all call Middle Earth home.  In the Hobbit the main character, Bilbo Baggins is lead on an adventure by Gandalf.  Gandalf is a wizard leading Bilbo and a group of dwarves to reclaim a mountain stolen by a dragon.  The mountain is the dwarves home.  While on there journey Bilbo finds a ring, which sets up the The Lord of the Rings series. 
   In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins is given this ring by his uncle Bilbo.  The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy.  Throughout the three books the reader follows Frodo on his journey to Mount Doom to destroy the ring.  Frodo is led by Gandalf and Aragorn; while being accompanied by his best friend Sam.   The journey is filled with obstacles, battles, and dilemmas the men have to overcome. 
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/lord-of-the-rings.html
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hobbit/book-summary.html

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Background of Harry Potter

    The Harry Potter series is made up of seven books.  The series is about a boy named Harry.  Up until his eleventh birthday Harry was basically treated as a slave by his aunt, uncle, and cousin.  On his eleventh birthday it is revealed to Harry that he is actually a wizard.  Harry then begins attending school at Hogwarts where he meets his two best friends, Ron and Hermione.  Once at school Harry soon learns the truth about his parents' deaths; and the scar on his forehead.  A notoriously evil wizard named Lord Voldemort murdered Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry.  In each book the three friends face a new challenge or dilemma that has to do with defeating Lord Voldemort.  Each of the three friends poses unique traits.  Harry is the brave leader that will do whatever it takes to defeat Lord Voldemort.  Hermione is the brains of the operation.  Ron is the brave, but witty that in a way lightens the mood. 
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/hp/

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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

   John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892.  During his childhood his family moved often, and were very poor.  He became a professor at the University of Oxford.  There he taught Anglo-Saxon.  While being a professor he also wrote his own stories.  Tolkien is most famous for writing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  Both novels take place in a fantasy world called Middle-Earth.  Middle Earth is home to men, women, wizards, elves, dwarfs, orcs, trolls, and goblins.  The Hobbit was originally published in 1937.  While The Lord of the Rings books were published from 1954-1955.  The books were instant hits, and are still extremely popular today.  Unfortunately, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien died on September 2, 1973.  He is remembered as author of two of the greatest novels ever published.
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html

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J.K. Rowling

    Joanne Rowling was born on July 31, 1965.  She grew up in Chepstow England.  Before becoming a writer, Rowling attended Exeter University.  She was a single mother of two daughters struggling to support her family.  Rowling is best known for being the author of the Harry Potter series.  The idea of writing Harry Potter first came to Rowling during a train ride from Manchester to London.  Before she wrote any of the books, she spent five years outlining the plots for each book.  Then she began working on the first novel.  The Harry Potter series shattered records, and earned Rowling numerous awards.  Thanks to Harry Potter, Rowling is one of the most renowned authors in the world today.  Today, Rowling has three children, re-married, and is working on more books.  This past September she released her first non Harry Potter related book The Casual Vacancy.  She is the thirteenth wealthiest woman in Britain.  She also announced that she plans on writing a Harry Potter encyclopedia.
http://www.biography.com/people/jk-rowling-40998
http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/#/about-jk-rowling

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