309 pages
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic (1998)
ISBN: 0439708184
Reading Level/Lexile: 5th grade and up/880L
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Annotation/Teaser: After Harry's mother and father die, he is sent to live with his uncle and aunt who force him to sleep under the stairs and hate the very sight of him. But on his 10th birthday, Harry finds himself on a magical adventure surrounded by wizards at Hogwarts School. What happens to Harry will change his life forever.
Plot Summary: Harry's parents are killed by Voldemort, an evil and powerful dark wizard. For the first 10 years of his life, Harry has lived with his mom's sister and her husband and son. The Dursleys treat Harry more like a servant than family, making him sleep under the stairs. On Harry's eleventh birthday, Hagrid, a half giant and Keeper of the Grounds at Hogwarts School, delivers a letter, that has been ignored numerous times, to let Harry know that he is a wizard and has been accepted into Hogwarts School. Hagrid takes Harry on a shopping trip to provide him with all the things he will need for his studies at Hogwarts, including the purchase of a wand. A month later, Harry leaves the Dursley's house to catch a magical train bound for Hogwarts school. On the train, Harry meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and they quickly become friends. Harry doesn't realize just how famous he is when he enters this new wizard world. Harry easily makes friends because of his fame and Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts takes Harry under his wing. But Harry will quickly learn that not all wizards can be trusted even the ones at Hogwarts.
About the Author: J.K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling was born in July 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, her course including one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London and worked as a researcher at Amnesty International among other jobs. She started writing the Harry Potter 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.
Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to a daughter in 1993. When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone was eventually completed. The book was first published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in June 1997, under the name J.K. Rowling. The “K”, for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother’s name was added at her publisher’s request who thought that a woman’s name would not appeal to the target audience of young boys.
The second title in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998 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 to worldwide acclaim and spent four weeks at No.1 in the UK adult hardback bestseller charts.
The fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first day of publication in the UK. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003 and broke the records set by Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire as the fastest selling book in history. 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 in 2007.
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 in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief.
In December 2008, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children’s High Level Group (now Lumos).
As well as an OBE for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees including the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France’s Légion d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, and she has been a Commencement Speaker at Harvard University USA. She supports a wide number of charitable 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.
J.K. Rowling’s latest book, The Casual Vacancy, her first novel for adults, was published in English in September 2012.
J.K. Rowling has also written The Cuckoo's Calling, her first crime novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, which was published this year.
J.K. Rowling Bio (n.d) Retrieved from www.jkrowling.com
Critical Evaluation: There are two themes that run through "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The first is the theme of humility. Rowling creates a hero who is modest and meek. At the beginning of the story, we see that his humility probably comes from the years he spent with the Dursley's, who were neglectful and cruel. But we also see as the story develops that even though he is newly famous, he still exhibits humility. When he realizes he is famous and everyone knows the name of Harry Potter, it doesn't make him prideful. It only makes him hope that he can live up to his name. Another example of Harry's humility when it comes to his extraordinary talent for Quidditch. Harry breaks Quidditch records and still rushes off instead of basking in the glory of the applause. Without this characteristic of humility, Harry would not be able to retrieve the Stone. Harry only wants to find the Stone for the good of those around him. Unlike those who wish to find the Stone to gain glory and fame.
Another theme that we see in this book is the danger of desire. Needless desire is found to be harmful from the beginning of the book when we see Dudley's desire for several television sets being portrayed as ridiculous. But also, we see the desire that Harry has is reflected in the Mirror of Erised. His desire is not necessarily bad. It is the desire to see his parents alive and be able to touch them But as Dumbledore explains, while desire is not always bad, it can cause even the best people to lose their perspective in life.
The details in the Harry Potter are amazing. J.K. Rowling takes the reader on an adventure of magic and excitement. This book is one that readers of all ages will have a hard time putting down.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Book talk ideas: What if you found out you were a wizard and you had magical powers?
Controversial Issues: Witchcraft, Occult
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Why I Chose This Book? This book is my all time favorite. This book was written for young adults but I feel that it is an great book for every age because of its ability to capture and keep the interest of the reader.
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