How to Read J.K. Rowling’s New Book of Chapters for Free
J.K. Rowling pulled a literal box out of her literal attic a few weeks ago to literally dust off a rough draft of a book she wrote years ago, when she was still writing the Harry Potter series. Now, as a gift from the coronavirus era to children (and adults) around the world, she is releasing a book called Ickabog , for free online, chapter by chapter.
Rowling writes on her blog that she originally intended to publish Ikaboga after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but then for a while felt like she was done with children’s books, and it came to the attic. That was until recently, when she told her two children that she was thinking of publishing it online for free. These will be the same (now much larger) children to whom she read this story aloud years ago when she wrote it, she says:
My teens were touchingly enthusiastic, so a very dusty box went downstairs, and for the past few weeks I have been immersed in a fictional world that I never thought I would ever get into again. As I worked to finish the book, I started reading the chapters to the family again every night. It was one of the most unusual experiences of my writing life, as the first two readers of Ikaboga told me what they remember when they were tiny and demanded to restore the fragments they especially liked (I obeyed).
Rowling describes Ikaboga as “a story of truth and abuse of power,” but also reiterates that it was written more than ten years ago and is therefore not a response to what is currently happening in the world.
She releases a chapter – or two, or three, there are no rules! – every weekday from today until July 10. To date, five chapters have been published to get you started. The story is well suited for serial production, she says, because it was written primarily as a read-aloud book, largely shaped by the way she read it to her own children. But kids between the ages of 7 and 9 (and older, of course) can read it on their own as well.
While you’re on the website Ickabog, check out the competition of illustrations, which holds Rowling. Children ages 7-12 can draw or color illustrations to accompany each chapter, and some will be selected for placement in The Ickabog’s print, e-book and audiobooks, which will be published in November.