Harri Potter a Maen yr Athronydd (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Welsh Edition) [Hardcover]

J. K. Rowling (Author), J.K. Rowling (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harry Potter | Publication Date: June 4, 2003

J. K. Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury in the UK in 1965. Such a funny-sounding name for a birthplace may have contributed to her talent for collecting odd names. Jo always loved writing more than anything and in 1996, one year after she finished it, Bloomsbury bought her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Welsh translation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in which Harry Potter, a normal eleven-year-old boy, discovers that he is a wizard. Long ago, Harry's parents were killed in a battle with the evil Lord Voldemort. When we first meet Harry, he is living miserably with his repulsive and non-magical (or Muggle) Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley, and their even more revolting son, Dudley. Following a bizarre but hilarious chain of events, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with an outrageous cast of characters, including super-smart Hermione Granger, vile Draco Malfoy, sinister Professor Snape, and the wise Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Adventures galore ensue.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; Tra edition (June 4, 2003)
• Language: Welsh
• ISBN-10: 1582348278
• ISBN-13: 978-1582348278
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,393,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Ston"e was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and was published as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998.The second title in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in America) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists.The fourth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. The fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series - 766 pages - and broke the records set by "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" as the fastest selling book in history. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales.The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA and sales have contributed to breaking the 375 million copies mark worldwide.J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through The Ages" were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Harry Potter books have sold 400 million copies worldwide. They are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Harri yn Cymraeg!, February 16, 2005

By 

D. Jole "dmjole" (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harri Potter a Maen yr Athronydd (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Welsh Edition) (Hardcover)

Dydwi ddim yn credu mod i yr cyntaf yma!
The story is likely familiar to most readers, so I will not comment on that or Rowling's writing here.
But I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to read a book in Welsh! As a non-native Welsh speaker, this was a welcome chance to practice and expand my vocabulary (how many different words are there for look/glance/peer/etc?!) and my grammar.
I read this book with a pair of Welsh dictionaries and the English translation ready at hand. It was a *great* help to know what the line was supposed to say (either from my knowledge of the story or from the English.) I could have read it without the dictionary, I suppose, but I wanted to actually learn the new verbs, and annotate things in the text.
The idiosyncracies of literary Welsh took a bit of getting used to (since I learned conversational Welsh, as most learners do), but after a few days I figured it out. The translator seemed to not be using the South Wales spoken dialect for verbs, pronouns and so on, which was difficult at first also since that is what I learned.
Hagrid's dialect, and various other terms (the 4 houses--Hwfftipwff, Crafangfran, Lleuerol, Slafennog; and Quidditch terms) were great fun to read, but would be confusing to some readers (since they would not be in a dictionary, but can be puzzled out, thanks to the translator's careful work in keeping the sense and meaning of the original English). If you are just learning the language, this book is too complex--I would rate this for medium to advanced learners. (Os dychi'n Cymru Cymraeg, basai'r lyfr yma ddim yn anodd, ond hwyl iawn.)
Pryd dyn ni'n medru darllen y llyfr nesaf?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun if you're learning Welsh, May 27, 2005

By 

Ceridwen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harri Potter a Maen yr Athronydd (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Welsh Edition) (Hardcover)

Like the other reviewer, I'm learning Welsh and find it very helpful to read something and then be able to compare it directly to the English translation. I also appreciated just having a break from things written specifically for students, which I often find really tedious - Harri at least is fun.

The translator uses northern Welsh, which I really appreciated because that's what I'm learning - may not be so great for those learning southern, which I think is more common.

I wouldn't, however, recommend that Welsh-speaking kids read this instead of the English - so much of what makes these books good is the wordplay, which doesn't quite translate.