J.K. Rowling, author of the hit book series Harry Potter, is a household name around the world. From children to adults almost everyone has read the books or seen the movies. But how much do most readers really know about the author behind the title; the woman behind the author?

J.K. Rowling: Boss the Bestseller List Like is an inspiring short non-fiction book about the life of Harry Potter author Joanne Kathleen Rowling or Jo is she is referred to in the book. It is an easy read that covers Rowling's life from childhood to post Harry Potter in a way that proves to be motivational.

The eye-catching graphics add to the story and coupled with some of J.K. Rowling's most inspiring quotes there are pages that look like they should be posters on a J.K. Rowling or even a classroom motivation feature wall.

J.K. Rowling: Boss the Bestseller List Like is a book that should be included in all school libraries and I can't wait to read similar books on other inspirational role models from the same series.

I really liked this little biography of J.K.Rowling.
Tons of information about one of my favorite writers of all times.
I especially love the colorful Illustrations.

I picked this book up because it looked cute and because it was about one of my favourite authors.

I loved the art, and I loved how sweetly and yet accurately J.K. Rowling's story was told in this book.

My favourite part was probably the way many of J.K. Rowling's quotes were spread throughout the book, mostly with a beautiful illustration to accompany it.

I loved the biography and I hope a lot of kids read it and draw inspiration from the real life wonder woman that is J.K. Rowling

I loved reading this. Its put its own twist on the current trend of life stories of empowering women from history. There is more detail and information about the subject, but still keeps it simple to understanding. The book's chapters are also broken up by quotes by the subject and beautiful paper craft inspired illustrations. Would love to read more of these.

** This review will feature as part of a larger Spotlight Feature on the series on 27 April. Links can be updated **

This book gives an insight into Joanne’s childhood, including the disappointment of not getting into Oxford, becoming a single parent living on benefits, right through to the more well-known years of her life (publisher rejections and then ultimately selling millions of copies of Harry Potter).

There is a great balance between storytelling, publishing stats and illustrations. Very early on, Caroline establishes a few writing concepts using clear and easy to understand sentences. But this is not just a book for young aspiring writers. As Caroline says, “Maybe you’re a writer or you know a writer” – this book inspires writers and non-writers because it’s about picking yourself up from a low point and channelling that disappointment to create a bright future.

The importance of family and the impact of Joanne’s mother’s illness is threaded through the ten chapters of this book. Family is a clear driver for Joanne to follow her dreams to be a writer; it’s heart-breaking she didn’t get a chance to tell her mother about Harry Potter. It’s inspiring that after her fame, Joanne gave back by building a Neurology Clinic. The second theme that runs through this biography is the role of rejection and, as one chapter title explains, Joanne doesn’t see “F for failure” but “F for future”. There is a strong message throughout that we can use our mistakes and rejections to help us grow and achieve our goals – such a brilliant takeaway for any reader.

My view of the series:
I wish this series had been around when I was young and actually, I still found them inspiring to read even as an adult. However, they are ultimately books to inspire the next generation of leaders and I have no doubt that they will.

What I love about this series is that while the books aren’t too long, you still feel like you’ve got the full picture of the woman’s life. Each chapter is only a couple of pages and the ratio of text-pages to illustration-pages is 50:50. What’s more, I love that the illustrations don’t just depict what the words told you but ADD to the story and move it on. The inspirational quotes from the women themselves are a brilliant touch and cleverly illustrated by Sinem.

Caroline has a distinctive and engaging voice that runs throughout the books, sometimes speaking directly to the young readers, which instantly makes these inspiring life-stories feel more accessible and, most importantly, relatable to young readers.

This is a series that can be enjoyed by many ages – young children can see the story and message through illustrations, older children can read text and adult fans can learn about a woman they love. These women are role models to everyone and these books are for all too. Caroline and Sinem have thought about every little detail in these books, right down to the ten chapter titles and how they are presented on the page. It has resulted in a unique series that deserves to sit on everyone’s bookshelf.

An inspiring and simple tale that is a must for kindergarten classrooms interested in garnering interest in reading through simple stories.

Very inspirational book for young people, and gives a good "get up when you fall down" messages. I knew a fair bit about j.k before reading the book but still was taught a few new things.

While there are parts of this book that I really enjoyed, I found definite problems in other areas.

Rather than simply being a biography, the book aims to be inspirational... and it's in this area that it's at its weakest. There are confusing mixed messages, such as "failure is good"... while simultaneously telling kids to work hard so they won't fail. (This made me wonder if we would've even had Harry Potter if Rowling had gotten into Oxford when she was a young adult. Her life might have gone in an entirely different direction!) I was also confused by the emphasis put on university education for a writing career. There are plenty of authors who haven't gotten a degree, so I don't know why this book makes it sound like Rowling couldn't have written Harry Potter if she hadn't gone to university.

The writing is definitely weak in spots. It mangles some sayings, leaves out words so that the meaning of the sentence is different, and drops sentence fragments here and there. The book also refers to MS as a "muscular disease", when it's not; it's neurological.

What I did enjoy about this book were the layout and illustrations. The pages of text are interspersed with illustrated pages of quotes. The pictures themselves are done with cut paper in a limited colour palette (orange, yellow, blue, purple, brown, black, and white), which gives the book a really unique look. I also thought Chapter 9 ¾ was a cute touch.

So this was a bit mixed for me. If it had stuck to the facts rather than trying to make this more of an inspirational title (the "key lessons" bit at the back was unnecessary), I might have liked this one more.

This was a great tale of J.K Rowling. I loved the easy to digest information. It was perfect for my little ones ages 9,6, and 5. We also loved the illustrations and her quotes within the book. Highly recommend for any child that's a Harry Potter fan or that wants to be writer.

Vibrant and inspiring mini biography on JK Rowling. It is just the right balance of text and visual design for the age range.

Informative children’s book about the famous author J.K. Rowling.

She’s known for her Harry Potter series and her retconning information about them.

However, she’s still pretty famous and this is an adorable book containing information to hopefully inspire young readers to writers.. or very least help them with a report on a famous writer.

Definitely recommend for the classroom library! The artwork used in here will help draw in students to the story about J.K. Rowling. It goes over who she was and is today. Simple, easy to read that fits right for child size reading. Downloaded through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A short biography of J.K. Rowling's life in around 50 pages. With illustrations that were eye-catching and beautiful. It seemed less of a way to "Boss the Bestsellers List" than a good guide to life. Either way, I liked it overall, I did have some doubts about a few of the statements though. For instance, I know J.K. tried hard in primary school because she had a teacher with a seating system which meant that when J.K. got moved to the top of the class her friend got moved to the dummy chair. (BBC's A Year in the Life of J.K. Rowling)

The only real thing I found actual fault with was terminology. I understood quite quickly that this was written in American English, which I am not opposed, but I found it distracting to have something described in UK English and mentioned further on in US English. e.g. Primary school, secondary school then transposed with Kindergarten and High school. I would have preferred to stick to one or the other so that the text would flow better.

In the end, I would say as a 32 year old I would be quite happy to buy this. for..... myself. As a massive Potterhead I would love to add this to my collection. I could put it on a bookshelf and prop it open on a quote I'm in the mood for.

Well worth a read regardless of age. I would give this 5 stars except for the inconsistency of language. Off to Gringotts to get the gallons to buy this.

Absolutely loved this book! It is a great way to introduce Harry Potter to the younger generation. Even as an adult I loved this. Loved the content and pictures. Would recommend.

This short and inspiring biography of JK Rowling, the writer who made kids fall in love with reading again, is well-researched and beautifully illustrated in an original paper-cut style. It gave me a much better idea of the writer’s background, tenacity, determination and love of writing. I didn’t know about her mother’s MS illness and the profound effect it must have had on her family. I loved her words on the importance of failure which can help you strip away the inessential. I think a lot of children will also relate to her story of not being accepted into the university of her choice due to her less than perfect academic record.
The colour scheme and the illustrations in this book are just amazing and are so in tune with the text. I also loved the way JK Rowling’s quotes became marvellous word art.
Fans of Harry Potter will, no doubt, be delighted, but I think this book has some valuable life lessons to offer to every reader.
My favourite quote from this book: We do not need magic to change our world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group /Francis Lincoln Children's Books for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

I have recently been re-reading the Harry Potter books and have again been struck by how talented J K Rowling is. Below is a small part of my recent post on the novels:

Let me just say that J K Rowling rightly deserves her place in children's literature. She cleverly tells a variation on a boarding school story, a classic quest tale, an orphan's story, a story about friendship and a tale about the importance of good trying to overcome evil.

Having just re-immersed myself in this world, I was thrilled to receive an e-galley of a children's title that tells J K Rowling's own story. The book is interspersed with her quotes and these add resonance to the text. The illustrations are bold and suit the title.

Young readers will learn about young Jo Rowling's struggles. Her mother was sick, she did not get along well with her father, she had difficulty "reaching her potential" at school and faced both joy (having a daughter) and struggle (a divorce, financial hardship). The reader learns as well that Jo Rowling liked to tell stories and that books were important to her. They will see how she kept on writing as Harry's story was vividly clear to her and she needed to get it down.

Young readers will learn about J K Rowling's persistence and eventual success. They will see too how she has used part of her wealth to help others. There is a section at the end of the book to encourage young people to write.

All in all, this is a promising entry in a promising new series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read. All opinions are my own.

Great information about the author, very detailed. Illustrations are beautiful, eye catching. Has a powerful message to never give up on something you truly believe in. A motivational book.

Interesting, in-depth look at J.K. Rowling. Love the pictures, lots of great info for kids who are looking to learn more about this inspirational woman!

As a Potterhead, I couldn't resist this book. It's an interesting biography of J. K. Rowling, filled with quotes and vibrant illustrations. It also tells the story that one can achieve dreams if you're willing to do the work to get there.

A new series of empowering biographies featuring modern women in the world of work.
When Joanne Rowling was a young woman, she found herself down and out of luck. But, she had a best-selling idea and a tenacious spirit. If only she could find someone who wanted to publish her book... Discover how J. K. Rowling became a best-selling author and publishing sensation in this true story of her life. Then, learn 10 key lessons from her work you can apply to your own life.

I'm a huge fan of J.K. Rowling, so I was super excited to get "my wish granted" and received this eARC... I thought it was done so nicely. My favorite part about this book are all of the quotes by J.K. Rowling, it just shows how inspiring she really is. I loved the artwork in this book and thought it was very well researched, I think this is going to turn out to be a great series empowering women!

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #Jkrowling
Pub Date: 05 Mar 2019

A wonderfully llustrated biography with a wealth of information and quotes. A must read for all J.K. Rowling fans.