Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) (Paperback)

by J.K. Rowling (Author), Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Say you've spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you find yourself surrounded by wizards, a caged snowy owl, a phoenix-feather wand, and jellybeans that come in every flavor, including strawberry, curry, grass, and sardine. Not only that, but you discover that you are a wizard yourself! This is exactly what happens to young Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling's enchanting, funny debut novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In the nonmagic human world--the world of "Muggles"--Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is famous as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities, and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he's quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoiled, piglike cousin Dudley.

A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, first published in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, continues to win major awards in England. So far it has won the National Book Award, the Smarties Prize, the Children's Book Award, and is short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, the U.K. version of the Newbery Medal. This magical, gripping, brilliant book--a future classic to be sure--will leave kids clamoring for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (Ages 8 to 13) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
The breakaway bestseller is now in paperback. In a starred review, PW said, "Readers are in for a delightful romp with this debut from a British author who dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl." Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (September 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059035342X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590353427
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5,487 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,314 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Harry Potter (English) Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

309 of 320 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Our first foray into Potter's world is truly magical!, October 17, 2007

By	Mike London "MAC" (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) (Hardcover)

With this introductory novel was published in 1997, few would have predicted the unprecedented success this series would produce. And everything that made Harry Potter so successful is all first shown, though hardly fully explained, in this book, HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSPHER'S STONE.

The novel opens with Harry living under the cupboard with his abusive aunt and uncle. He has had a mean, depressed life, and though an active boy, the sheer amount of trauma he must have endured would scar any child. But the door opens out of this lifestyle. I've read an interesting theory (obviously not true), that a much different writer than Rowling would have ended Book 7 with Harry having imagined all this fantasy world, where he was so prominent and famous, to help escape the neglect and abuse from the Dursleys.

He gets a letter (actually, hundreds) saying he is in fact a wizard. So he is enrolled the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Him, along with his new friend the giant Hagrid, go to Diagon Alley, a magical bazaar, and thus he is thrust into the magical universe so captured the imagination of millions. We soon learn Harry is world famous among wizards for conquering an evil Wizard named Vo - um - He Who Must Not Be Named. Sorry `bout that slip. =). Along the way, we learn that Voldemort is after a magical artifiact called the Philosopher's Stone (which was, unfortunately, changed from the UK original title to "Sorcerer's Stone" in all other regions). So much of the novel is driven by the three main characters defending this stone from Voldemort.

In this novel we get the first ever glimpses of Hogwarts, Voldemort, Quidditch, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, muggles, the Forbidden Forest, the Invisibility Cloak, and any other number of thins Rowling's magical confectionary of an imagination has cooked up for us.

One of the best things about this book, and indeed about the whole series, is how Rowling plants details which, when reading, you may not necessarily pick up on, but are later rather important in later volumes. Who would think Griphook and Hagrid's admonition no one breaks into Gringotts would have such prominence in Book 7? Or the importance of Harry being able to talk to the boa constrictor, something which is not referenced again until Book 2 and then not fully explained until Book 7? Or the Invisibility Cloak, a device first introduced in this novel, but you have no idea of its importance, or even that it has real significane, until Book 7.

Another great example of this planting of clues is Neville Longbottom, who, but by fate, could easily have been the main star of the series, though you don't find out that information until much later in Book 5.

The book also introduces the relationship dynamics that would continue throughout the entire series, from the interplay between the three main kids (Harry, Ron, and Hermione), to the ambiguous Severus Snape, the wise mentor figure of Albus Dumbledore, bumbling Hagrid with his love of nasty creatures, prim and reserved Professor McGonagall, evil incarnate Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, etc.

Overall, there are numerous memorable scenes in this novel. As the novels progressed, the children aged and the target audience would have aged as well. In this novel, they are still very young and immature, but already at this early point in their career, there are seeds of greatness for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The same can be said of this debut novel as well.






This is my order of Potter books by preference:
Deathly Hallows
Prisoner of Azkaban
Order of the Phoenix
Philosopher's Stone/Chamber of Secrets (I rank them both the same)
Half-Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire.

244 of 270 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, June 21, 2000

By	"purelyjoy" (Hong Kong SAR) - See all my reviews

Harry Potter has lived a dismal life with his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. He sleeps in a closet and has never had a birthday party or Christmas presents. Even worse, he has to endure life with his horrible spoiled cousin, Dudley. Then on Harry's eleventh birthday, things change when a letter arrives, (by owl), inviting him to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly Harry finds himself among friends, learning about potion-making and magic-wand waving and broomstick riding. There're chocolate frogs and Every Flavor Beans and a three-headed dog and Quidditch-a game better than soccer. Also, Hagrid, a lovable gamekeeper who befriends Harry; Hermione Granger, a witch who's read all the school books and knows all the rules; and there's Ron Weasly, Harry's best friend who has quite a legacy of his own to fill. Hogwarts treats him well, even with the abomidable Malfoy's mean tricks or Professor Snape's obvious hatred of Harry. The soon Harry finds himself in the middle of a mystery at Hogwarts, and together with his two new friends, embarks on adventures he never dreamed possible.

The book is engaging with its imagery, humor, plot twists and real-life child problems. The book doesn't only appeal to children but adults as well. She's a master on fantasy. She really can, with no difficulty at all, think herself back to 11 years old. You will love the whimsical descriptions, humorous quotes and the fun characters.

106 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love the books, but hate this Collector's Edition, October 24, 2000

By	Travis Prebble "attention span deficient" (State College, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) (Leather Bound)

Ever since my wife coaxed me to read the Harry Potter books, I have been an immense fan of the series, right down to the Hogwarts notebook that I take to business meetings. So, when I saw a display for the Sorcerer's Stone Collector's Edition, I just had to check it out. What a disappointment. ... [Y]ou get a leather binding, shrunken cover art, and some pressed gold. Oh, there's the illustration of Harry drawn by Rowling, but that's not really worth this cost. I found the book to be rather too flashy, gaudy even, and much prefer the simplicity of the UK special editions (which, by the way, cost half as much as this book and that includes the cost for shipping). Please know that I don't mind spending money on good editions of books I already have. The fact that I own 6 copies of Lord of the Rings will attest to this. But, I just am not excited about this pricey collector's edition. So, instead of purchasing this book, I would recommend popping over to Amazon UK and getting TWO of *those* special editions (keep in mind when you're looking that the original title of Sorcerer's Stone is Philosopher's Stone), because, really, part of the joy of collecting is that you will have something unique and rare. How many kids on your block have the unedited UK editions of this great story?