Customer Reviews

Harry Potter 1-6. Childrens Edition

5 star:		(354)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

My problem was that these books were missing chunks of pages! We didn't notice it until book 4 of 6, but 80+ pages were gone! Now, Amazon was great about replacing the set adn paying for me to return the messed-up set. This is just a warning to check your boxed set when it gets in for missing chunks of pages!

Of course, the Harry Potter series is great, adn we love having them in paperback.

Whether you are young or old and you haven't yet read any of J.K. Rowling's wonderful series of books about a young wizard named Harry Potter, then this set of the first six books would be a wonderful way to begin your own journey.

Harry Potter's story begins with the 1997 book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". At age 11, he has been taken care of from the time that he was only one year old by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who have a child of their own named Dudley. They have taken care of Harry because his own parents, James and Lily Potter (Lily was Petunia's sister) were killed by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. The Dursleys want nothing to do with magic, and since Harry may be a wizard, they have not treated him very well. However, just before Harry's 11th birthday, he received a letter from the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft; but the Dursleys won't let him read the letter. More & more letters from Hogwarts arrive until out of desperation, the Dursleys attempt to run away with Harry; but they are easily found and on Harry's birthday, a huge man by the name of Hagrid arrives to personally deliver Harry's invitation from Hogwarts to study magic. It is only then that Harry finds out that he's a wizard and that the Dursleys had lied to him about how his parents died. Harry leaves with Hagrid and begins his first year at Hogwarts, where he makes his first true friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It's an exciting story as Harry learns to play quidditch, learns potions with the unpleasant Professor Snape and becomes entangled in some secret affairs at the school. He may even have an encounter with "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named".

In 1999, Harry's story continued with "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". At age 12, Harry has been treated slightly better by the Dursleys over his summer holiday, but things begin to turn sour when an elf named Dobby suddenly appears in Harry's bedroom to give him a message: that he should not return to Hogwarts this year. Not accepting the warning, Dobby makes mischief while the Dursleys are entertaining. Uncle Vernon puts bars on Harry's bedroom window and refuses to let him return to Hogwarts, but a flying car carrying Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George arrive and rescue Harry. Harry's does finally get to Hogwarts, but students begin to be attacked by an unknown force and Harry starts to hear strange voices. That's when they learn about a legendary part of the castle known only as "the chamber of secrets", in which a horrible monster is said to dwell. Will Hogwarts get shut down, or can Harry and his friends figure out where the chamber is? Look out for Professor Gilderoy Lockhart and Moaning Myrtle.

Also in 1999, Harry's adventures continued with the release of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". At age 13, after Harry accidentally causes one of his other unpleasant muggle aunts to inflate like a balloon, he runs away from the Dursleys to wait out the end of his summer holidays elsewhere. Harry meets the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, but he doesn't' get in trouble for inflating his aunt. Instead, there is something far more ominous: Sirius Black, a very dangerous prisoner and convicted murderer, has escaped from Azkaban prison. Everyone at Hogwarts must be on guard, especially with the dreaded dementors on the prowl looking for Sirius. While Ron & Harry can't understand how Hermione is getting to all of her classes (some classes at the same time), Sirius Black is looking for Harry. When Harry finds out who Sirius Black is, he goes ballistic; but things may not always be as they appear.

In 2000, at 14, Harry begins his fourth year at Hogwarts in the book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". This is an unusual year at Hogwarts: instead of the usual quidditch matches between the four houses, an international Tri-Wizarding Tournament is to be held. Limited to only upper-class students, everyone is shocked when Harry is named to be one of its contestants. The Tri-Wizarding Tournament is somewhat dangerous to its participants, but Hermione finds herself in an affair with a world-renowned quidditch player who is representing his school in the Tournament. In the meantime, Harry starts to have his first teenaged romance with a girl named Cho Chang, but his life is complicated when he begins to experience strange visions of snakes and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". What is "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" doing? Harry will no doubt be caught in the thick of it and it may interfere with the Tournament!

In 2003, at 15, Harry's adventures continue in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". After the events that conclude the previous book, Harry saves himself and his cousin Dudley from two dementors near the Dursleys home. In trouble for having used magic as an underage wizard, Harry is brought before a court at the Ministry of Magic. Thanks to Professor Dumbledore, Harry's attendance at Hogwarts is saved, but the Ministry of Magic thinks Harry is a liar. To keep a lid on Harry & Dumbledore, the Ministry makes the lives of Hogwarts' staff and students (especially Harry) miserable with the arrival of Professor Dolores Umbridge direct from the Ministry. Not only does she personally make Harry's life miserable, Harry has to take extra lessons from Professor Snape! However, something that Lord Voldemort desperately wants takes his band of Death Eaters and their battle with the Order to the secret halls of the Ministry itself resulting in a terrible price for Harry.

In 2005, at 16, Harry begins his sixth year at Hogwarts in the long-awaited book "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". After surviving Professor Umbridge and the terrible events of the fifth book, the reputations of Professor Dumbledore and Harry have been restored as the Ministry of Magic has been forced to deal with the increasing number of attacks around England from the Death Eaters. In fact, Cornelius Fudge has been replaced by the more capable Rufus Scrimgeour as the new Minister of Magic. Professor Dumbledore himself arrives at the Dursley's home to take Harry and has a very interesting discussion with them. He also tells Harry that he will be giving Harry private lessons during his sixth year. These lessons focus on teaching Harry about Voldemort's life story, as best as Professor Dumbledore can remember. While Harry, Ron and Hermione have more homework than ever, Voldemort's war rages and a deadly plot is hatched that involves Draco Malfoy and Professor Snape resulting in Harry being faced with one of the most difficult experiences of his life. Decisions are then made that will have far reaching implications for J.K. Rowling's seventh and final (yet unnamed) book in the Harry Potter series.

Overall, I rate J.K. Rowling's first six Harry Potter books with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend them. You too will then know what Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are; as well as some of the secrets about Hogwarts and its magical world. You might even come across a hippogryph named Buckbeak, a spider named Aragog, a werewolf and a broad range of engaging characters. I very much look forward to reading the seventh and final book.

I'm not going to address the quality of the Harry Potter series. After all, if you weren't interested in the plots and storylines, you wouldn't be considering this item. What I will address is the fact that this collection is, hands down, the best value on the first six books of the series you will find, period! (Price at time of writing was $100) I'm a member of several book associations, and even they cannot match it. The books themselves are hardback, with excellent quality paper and high production value. The jackets all show the colorful illustrations of Mary Grandpré, and have raised lettering. The bindings themselves are library quality, and durable, with metallic lettering on the spine. It was a must have for my hardback Fantasy library and collection and, though most of my books for it have been obtained via a SFBC membership, Amazon definitely provided the best value on this one!

The Harry Potter series is a great series because the author explains the characters so well. The plot is full of adventure. I like the 1st book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone because it is when Harry finds out he is a wizard, he first goes to Hogwarts, he meets friends, and gets foes.
I like the 2nd book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because Dobby comes and tells him not to go back to Hogwarts, he goes to school anyway, and a lot of weird things happen (I can not tell you though).
I like the third book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban because he goes on the night bus and has a crazy ride, Aunt Marge starts saying bad things about him, he gets mad, and he finds out that Sirius Black got away from Azkaban.
I like the 4th book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because there is a tournament between 3 schools that Harry some how gets entered in to and he has to do the things in the tournament.
I like the 5th book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because they make an order to fight dark wizards, Harry and Cho get into a relationship, and he has a court trial for using under-aged magic.
I like the 6th book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince because Harry gets picked up early by Dumbledore and helps him make an old teacher come back.
My favorite book in the series is the 5th book. My favorite character is Harry Potter.
The series themes are life as a wizard and good versus evil. I recommend this series for all ages. I think this is the best series ever!

When these books were "translated" into American English, the Briticisms were edited out. If you go searching for the original English versions (the ones printed by Bloomsbury, where "Sorcerer's Stone," is called "Philosopher's Stone"), you'll get the original version of the text. For example, in chapter 1 of the first book, in the UK version Dudley's new favorite word is "Shan't," whereas in the US version it is "Won't." The differences seem to be relatively minor, from what I've read so far.

But the physical BOOKS are very different in the UK version. They are much smaller, and lighter. Looking at the front cover, the Bloomsbury (UK) books are a full 1 inch narrower, and 1.25 inches shorter. This cuts down the volume of paper (weight) significantly. They feel nice to hold in your hand. The margins are narrower, and there isn't as much wasted space between lines as in the US versions. The text is still a comfortable size for reading -- it's not squished. The paper has more texture. I'm not sure how the acid content compares, I wish I knew. Looks to be good paper, and the cover page said it is all recyclable and made from sustainable forests.

US hardbacks these days almost always have cloth only at the spine, and then the rest of the cover is wrapped with paper. That means that when you take the slip-cover off, the book is no longer aesthetically pleasing. With the Bloomsbury (UK) books, the whole cover is a cloth finish -- I believe it is a tough paper, pretending to be cloth. But again, it has a very nice "feel." When you take the slip cover off to read, the book feels friendly and good in your hand. The title on the spine is printed in gold, embossed in. Aesthetically much nicer than the US versions.

Best of all, even Order of the Phoenix, the largest of the books, is still at a size/weight that you CAN hold in your hand and read. Heavy, but possible. With the US versions you have to rest the larger books on your lap or a table, because they are too big to hold for long periods. Even the smaller US books are uncomfortable to hold up in your hand.

The weight of the US hardback versions of Sorcerer's Stone and Order of the Phoenix combined ROUGHLY equals the weight of the first FOUR volumes of the UK set, WITH box included. (This is not by using a scale, just by waving them in my hands, but it's a fair approximation anyway.)

What you lose by getting the UK version is the wonderful art. There is no interior art in the Bloomsbury books, either in the children's version (from what I've been told) or the adult version.

I bought the Bloomsbury "adult" cover version -- they're all black slip-covers, with photographic images, and the inside covers are black. ISBN: 0747581541 All my remarks refer to this set.

There is also a Bloomsbury "kid's" cover version, ISBN: 0747581533 From what I understand, these are the same size as the adult covers. (I asked a friend in England to compare them for me in a shop, and she said they were the same size.) They do have brighter covers, and art on the covers, but the British illustrator is not, in my opinion, anywhere near as good as Mary GrandPre, who did the art for the US editions. That's why I chose the adult covers when I bought my Bloomsbury set.

Nice paperback set with slipcover - makes a great gift. If you're one of the half dozen people on the planet who has not yet read this amazing series - or if you're on the fence about getting it for a child - DON'T HESITATE. This isn't overly pop or half baked stuff. Harry Potter is a phenomenon because JK Rowling is an incredible writer. She brilliantly crafts a vivid alternate universe where magic is real. The plots of each book are a brilliant balance of coming of age story, comraderie, danger, and epic good against evil. There are parallels to Aescelus, Erypides, and "the Lord of the Rings". Rowling has a special affinity for action. Each of the books brews and simmers until a rip roaring conclusion. Most folks read the last couple of hundred pages of each of these in a single sitting (or must be agonizingly torn away).

Some folks might figure they'll just watch the movies. That's ironic. Rowling specifically stated part of her motivation in writing these was to get kids to read. As amazing as the movies are, they can't touch the books. Isn't that pretty much always the case? This series is great literature, and is compulsively page turningly entertaining. They have turned millions of kids on to reading. I give them my highest recommendation.

J.K. Rowling gives you all six hardcover books, and she justs gets better and better as Harry gets older. She has shown the world of true magic and wizardely. Gave kids and adults interesting stories for us to enjoy over a span of time that will always be remembered.

This is the collection you want if you don't have any of the Harry Potter books, if you don't care for the hardcover books I advice you to get the soft cover collection.

Overall: To me Rowling continues to get better and better and this is a colleciton that proves it I gives this a 5/5.

This is the best purchase I ever did in my lifetime. The master JK Rowling sucks you into the world of miracles, magic and mystery, keeps you spellbound (i mean it.. SPELL-bound) and leaves you guessing what comes in the next page!!! I have read the books countless times and I still can't keep it down if I take it. It makes me feel as if I am nolonger part of this world and I am in a world where anything is possible, unexpected is always expected and brave survive! MASTER PIECE! I simply love it.

JK Rolling has a gift. That's the best collection I've ever read. I've read all the books before purchasing this collection. But I've decided that I should have them all. The box is extremely beautiful and every book seems to be made with special care for the readers. It's worth every cent.

I was so happy to find this for so cheap. My best friend has never read the books and I am so obsessed with them. She finally agreed to read the books but refused to check them out of the library and couldn't afford all of the books seperately. I found this and bought it for her birthday. She loved it and now she is starting to read the books. ANOTHER ONE HOOKED!