For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's
Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.
As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
--This text refers to the audioCD edition.
In this third installment in the projected seven-volume series, Sirius Black, imprisoned for killing 13 people with one curse, escapes from Azkaban. As he heads for Hogwarts, the chilling Dementors who trail him quickly descend upon the school. "Each successive volume expands upon its predecessor with dizzyingly well-planned plots and inventive surprises," said PW in a Best Books of 2001 citation. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
paperback edition.
From the Inside Flap
FOR TWELVE long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.
Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts ... he's at Hogwarts".
Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst.
--This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Review
PRAISE FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (September, 1998)
"A wonderful first novel. Much like Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling has a gift for keeping the emotions, fears, and triumphs of her characters on a human scale, even while the supernatural is popping out all over. The book is full of wonderful, sly humor [and] the characters are impressively three-dimensional (occasionally, four-dimensional!) and move along seamlessly through the narrative. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is as funny, moving and impressive as the story behind its writing. Like Harry Potter, [J.K. Rowling] has wizardry inside, and has soared beyond her modest Muggles surroundings to achieve something quite special."
--The New York Times Book Review
"A charming, imaginative, magical confection of a novel...a glorious debut, a book of wonderful comic pleasures and dizzying imaginative flights. There is no cause to doubt Rowling's abilities and promise, and every reason to expect great things, truly great things, from her in the future."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"You don't have to be a wizard or a kid to appreciate the spell cast by Harry Potter."
--USA Today
"The story delights and the writing gives you goosebumps, the good kind."
--Chicago Tribune
"The huge cast of characters, set against a fantastic backdrop with good doses of action, humor and fun, will surely captivate..."
--Seattle Times
* "Readers are in for a delightful romp with this award-winning debut from a British author sho dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl. There is enchantment, suspense, and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogey-men-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccerlike Quidditch to entertain sports fans)."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "After reading this entrancing fantasy, readers will be convinced that they, too, could take the train to Hogwarts School, if only they could find Platform Nine and Three Quarters at the King's Cross Station."
--School Library Journal, starred review
* "Rowling's first novel is a brilliantly imagined and beautifully written fantasy that incorporates elements of traditional British school stories without once violating the magical underpinnings of the plot. In fact, Rowling's wonderful ability to put a fantastic spin on sports, student rivalry, and eccentric faculty contributes to the humor, charm, and well, delight of her utterly captivating story."
--Booklist, starred review
"A rousing first novel.... This hugely enjoyable fantasy is filled with imaginative details, from oddly flavored jelly beans to dragons' eggs hatched on the hearth.."
--Kirkus Reviews
--This text refers to the
audioCD edition.
About the Author
J. K. Rowling is the author of the beloved, bestselling, record-breaking Harry Potter series. She started writing the series during a delayed 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. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published in the United States by Arthur A. Levine Books in 1998, and the series concluded nearly ten years later with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, published in 2007. J. K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees including an OBE for services to children’s literature, France’s Légion d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. She supports a wide number of causes through her charitable trust Volant, and is the founder of Lumos, a charity working to transform the lives of disadvantaged children. J. K. Rowling lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children.
Kazu Kibuishi is the creator of the New York Times bestselling Amulet series and Copper, a collection of his popular webcomic. He is also the founder and editor of the acclaimed Flight anthologies. Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, his first graphic novel, was listed as one of the Best Books for Young Adults by YALSA, and Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Children's Choice Book Award finalist. Kazu lives and works in Alhambra, California, with his wife and fellow comics artist, Amy Kim Kibuishi, and their two children. Visit Kazu online at www.boltcity.com.
Mary GrandPré has illustrated more than twenty beautiful books for children, including the American editions of the Harry Potter novels. Her work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Wall Street Journal, and her paintings and pastels have been shown in galleries across the United States. Ms. GrandPré lives in Sarasota, Florida, with her family.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
The Harry Potter epic (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) continues to gather speed as Harry enters his third year at the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry and does battle with the traitor behind his parents' deaths. Besides coping with the usual adversaries - sneering classmate Draco Malfoy, evocatively-named Potions Master Snape - the young wizard-in-training has a new worry with the escape of Sirius Black, murderous minion of archenemy Lord Voldemort, from the magicians' prison of Azkaban. Folding in subplots and vividly conceived magical creatures, Azkaban's guards, known as dementors, are the very last brutes readers would want to meet in a dark alley. With characteristic abandon, Rowling creates a busy backdrop for Harry as she pushes him through a series of terrifying encounters and hard-fought games of Quidditch, on the way to a properly pulse-pounding climax strewn with mistaken identities and revelations about his dead father. The main characters and the continuing story both come along so smartly (and Harry at last shows a glimmer of interest in the opposite sex, a sure sign that the tides of adolescence are lapping at his toes) that the book seems shorter than its page count: have readers clear their calendars if they are fans, or get out of the way if they are not. (Fiction. 10-13) --
Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
audioCD edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Isn't it reassuring that some things just get better and better? Harry is back and in fine form in the third installment of his adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His summer with the hideous Dursley family is cut short when, during a fit of quite understandable rage, he turns his Aunt Marge into an enormous balloon and then runs away. Soon, it becomes quite apparent that someone is trying to kill him; even after Harry is ensconed in the safety of fall term at Hogwarts, the attacks continue. Myriad subplots involving a new teacher with a secret, Hermione's strangely heavy class schedule, and enmity between Ron's old rat, Scabbers, and Hermione's new cat, Crookshanks, all mesh to create a stunning climax. The pace is nonstop, with thrilling games of Quidditch, terrifying Omens of Death, some skillful time travel, and lots of slimy Slytherins sneaking about causing trouble. This is a fabulously entertaining read that will have Harry Potter fans cheering for more.
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
audioCD edition.
![Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by [J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Dfqo6jR5L._SY346_.jpg)
