Daniel Radcliffe reads Harry Potter as part of the Harry Potter At Home initiative. Photo: WizardingWorld.com

While there are certainly endless downsides to the current ‘sheltering at home’ order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the upsides from an artistic standpoint have now moved into the arena of far outweighing the new normal of social distancing. Whether it’s ‘live’ concerts on social media or theaters around the world opening up their archives allowing everyone to experience classic theater performances, it’s clear that creativity (not necessity) is the mother of invention.

Just this past week, the National Theatre in London opened up their archive to stream the 2011 production of Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. Now, comes the ultimate gift to fans of Harry Potter as Daniel Radcliffe narrates “The Boy Who Lived”, the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, to kick off a stellar online read-through of the book.

If that doesn’t make staying at home immediately become all the more tolerable, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, and Eddie Redmayne are among the names who will be lending their voices to future chapters from the book.

Surprise! We’ve got a treat for you…From today, amazing friends of the Wizarding World are going to take turns reading Harry Potter book one.

And to start us off with Chapter 1, we think you’ll agree we have the perfect narrator…⚡️ #HarryPotterAtHome
https://t.co/w9K77akbou pic.twitter.com/Q03PmjeD5d

— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) May 5, 2020

Developed by the amazing folks over at Wizarding World, the J.K. Rowling #HarryPotterAtHome online hub aims to help children stay engaged with reading during the coronavirus lockdown, with follow-up activities suggested for those being taught at home. Hopefully, the ‘Harry Potter At Home’ project will add a touch of Harry Potter magic to the new daily lives of children, parents, carers and teachers. Given the fact that there are 17 chapters in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, expect this first book read-through to continue for roughly the next four months.

Radcliffe’s narration is available to watch now on the Wizarding World website. The chapters will be released weekly on the Wizarding World website and also on Spotify. In addition, Harry Potter fans of all ages can submit their artwork to be featured in the readalongs through the Wizarding World website, which is accepting entries from all ages and abilities.