Once again we find more details of upcoming toys. The Philadelphia Daily News gives us uet more information about the Spell Casting playset: Even more amazing is the Harry Potter Wizard Spell Casting Playset, due in the fall. The game play changes each time a different casting stone (sensor-equipped) is placed in a special trough. …read more!

This is Wiltshire reports on the company in selected to help find locations for the various Harry Potter movie sets. At the same site is an article that looks at how local Lacock shopkeepers view the influx of people for the filming of the movie.

We have an update on the Official Harry Potter Web site. If you go to the US or UK Web sites, and type in the secret password you can get a sneak preview of the site. I’ll give you a hint – if you can guess what the password is *ahem The Dursleys* then you …read more!

Yay! Rejoice! Empire Online is reporting that the Official Harry Potter Movie Site will launch tomorrow! You can get to the site from the US address or UK URL. Perhaps their veil of secrecy will be lifted and we’ll find out more about who is cast in what roles and get to see some more …read more!

Kidscreen Magazine gives us some insight to more Harry Potter products: “Standouts in the toy area include a large and highly-detailed Hogwarts Castle (Mattel); dioramas depicting scenes from the movie (Mattel); as well as an array of gross-out candies, such as ear wax- and vomit-flavored jelly beans, and chocolate frogs (both from Hasbro).” Finally official …read more!

More Toy news from the New York Daily News: “Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone” toys arrive in September, ahead of the November opening. A Hogwarts 3-D game will be out in September ($29.99), along with Professor Snape’s Potion Class ($24.99) and McGonagall’s Twilight Transformers ($24.99). Snape’s Potion Class and Twilight Transformers? Those are new …read more!

*sigh* It looks like Muggles has become slang for Marijuana….

The LA Times has an article about how new toys are leaving nothing to the imagination anymore. Included is a description of Mattel’s new Roarin’ Snorin’ Norbert: “Mattel’s Roarin’ Snorin’ Norbert ($ 40), a baby dragon from the Harry Potter books, is an undeniably cute plush toy. It awakes to a touch with lots of …read more!

Finally we have confirmation from J.K. Rowling’s publisher, Bloomsbury Press (via the Glasgow Herald) that it is highly unlikely Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be printed in this year. The article makes light of some interesting subjects including that J.K. pushed up the timetable in order to not rush the book …read more!

The Harry Potter Galleries has scored twice today with detailed quotes and information about Book 5, which Amazon is now letting you pre-order and is not due out until 2002. What’s great about these quotes, is that Rames actually cites and links to the official articles from which they came – a researcher after my …read more!