New Delhi, May 5 (IANS): The latest exciting new addition to "Harry Potter At Home", a collection of free initiatives designed to help bring the magic of Harry Potter to children, parents and carers in lockdown, was launched on Tuesday.
Some of the best-loved faces from global entertainment, music and sport have lent their voices to the story they love by recording videos of themselves reading the timeless first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone".
Seven readers from the stellar line-up - Daniel Radcliffe, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, and Eddie Redmayne - were announced by Wizarding World and J.K. Rowling on Twitter.
They are amongst the cast of narrators, with more surprises and special appearances from across the Wizarding World and beyond to come.
"Each will be reading different sections of this iconic book, with its themes of family, friendship, courage and overcoming adversity, to families around the world," a Bloomsbury statement said.
Kicking off the series of video readings will be a face that is instantly synonymous with Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, who will read Chapter One: 'The Boy Who Lived'.
All 17 chapters of the book will be released between now and the middle of the summer, starting May 5. Videos will be posted weekly on www.harrypotterathome.com, with an audio-only version available for all for free on Spotify for children, parents and carers worldwide to have fun and enjoy listening to these very special, one-off recordings.
The Harry Potter At Home project is an initiative developed at short notice by Wizarding World Digital and J.K. Rowling's agents, The Blair Partnership, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of Wizarding World partners including Warner Bros. Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Pottermore Publishing.
"The initiative already includes an open licence to teachers allowing them to post recordings of themselves reading the Harry Potter stories onto educational platforms and networks; a dedicated hub of information and activities at www.harrypotterathome.com; and 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone' available to stream for free via Audible Stories and borrowed more widely via online library services all over the world," Bloomsbury said.