“Harry Potter” Shares the Magic With Massive Back to Hogwarts Book Donation

The magic of Harry Potter has always started with the turn of a page.

Now, as Back to Hogwarts approaches, that magic is being shared with an entirely new generation of readers in a rather meaningful way.

As first exclusively reported by Variety, publishers behind the “Harry Potter” books are coming together for a worldwide reading initiative that will see more than 200,000 books donated to schools, libraries, hospitals and underserved communities across the globe.

The effort is part of this year’s Back to Hogwarts celebration, which takes place annually on September 1 and has grown into one of the largest yearly celebrations of the Wizarding World.

Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Pottermore and a number of international publishing partners are taking part, with donations planned across the United States, United Kingdom and several other countries.

Here in the U.S., Scholastic alone will donate 100,000 copies of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” to underserved communities.

The effort will go even further thanks to a collaboration between Scholastic, Audible and Pottermore, which will also make the audiobook available to 100,000 teachers connected with Scholastic Book Clubs.

Over in the U.K., Bloomsbury will distribute copies through literacy organizations and charities including The National Literacy Trust, Give a Book and Read for Good, while Pottermore and Audible will match those donations with audiobook editions.

Yet the magic isn’t stopping with physical books.

Throughout September, library readers will also have an easier time returning to Hogwarts digitally. Pottermore is removing waitlists for digital eBook and audiobook editions of the “Harry Potter” series, making the stories much more widely accessible through participating libraries.

Fans will also be able to revisit the original audiobook editions of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” narrated by Stephen Fry and Jim Dale.

Those recordings will be made available for free through the official Harry Potter YouTube channel as well as Audible, Amazon Music and Spotify. The release will notably mark the first time Jim Dale’s version has been available to listeners outside North America through YouTube.

It all makes for a rather fitting Back to Hogwarts celebration.

For decades, “Harry Potter” has been one of those gateway series that helped young readers discover just how immersive books could be. Before the films, attractions, games, merchandise and everything else that followed, there were simply seven books and generations of kids discovering Hogwarts for the first time.

This initiative brings things back to that beginning.

Rather than simply celebrating the franchise through collectibles and events, it is placing the stories directly into the hands of kids who might not otherwise have access to them.

Back to Hogwarts itself is also shaping up to be particularly large this year, with celebrations planned around the world and additional surprises expected on September 1.

There will even be a one-day fan experience in London featuring photo opportunities, activities, gaming experiences and giveaways from across the Wizarding World, including copies of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and its audiobook edition.

And with the new HBO “Harry Potter” adaptation also bringing another generation of viewers into the Wizarding World, there may not be a better time to remind everyone where the magic originally began.

Inside a book.