Celebrated author of the Harry Potter books, J.K Rowling, is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Not only did she changed our lives forever by creating the world of Harry Potter, she has now released ‘ The Ickabog’, a children’s book that she is personally releasing chapter by chapter, for free.
The author literally dusted off a draft of ‘The Ickabog’ that she wrote many years ago while still in the midst of writing the Harry Potter series. While the Coronavirus era continues to remain grim, this book will certainly lift the spirits of children and adults alike.
Rowling writes on her blog that she’d originally intended to publish The Ickabogafter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but wanted a break from children’s books for a while and stored the draft in her attic. That is, until recently, when she mentioned to two of her children that she was thinking about publishing it online for free. These would be the same (now much older) children she’d read the story aloud to years ago, while she was writing it, she says:
My now teenagers were touchingly enthusiastic, so downstairs came the very dusty box, and for the last few weeks I’ve been immersed in a fictional world I thought I’d never enter again. As I worked to finish the book, I started reading chapters nightly to the family again. This was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my writing life, as The Ickabog’s first two readers told me what they remember from when they were tiny, and demanded the reinstatement of bits they’d particularly liked (I obeyed)
She’s releasing a chapter every weekday from now until July 10. As of today, there are five chapters posted to get you started that you can find on the following website: https://www.theickabog.com/en-us/read-the-story/
According to the author the story will be serial release as it was written primarily as a read-aloud book, shaped largely from the way she read it to her own children. But kids ages 7-9 (and older, of course) can also read it on their own.
Rowling is even hosting an illustration competition for children aged between 7 to 12 where they can draw or paint illustrations to accompany each chapter, and some will be selected to be featured in The Ickabog print, e-book and audiobook forms set to publish in November.