Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1997. 309 pages. $24.99 ISBN 9780590353403
Plot Summary: Harry Potter grew up with his not so kind Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley Dursley. Orphaned as a baby when the evil wizard Lord Voldemort killed his parents and attempted to kill him too, Harry knew nothing of the world his parents lived in. On his eleventh birthday Harry is visited by Hagrid, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry game keeper. Hagrid informs Harry that he has a place at the school and is from a world he never knew existed. Much to the dismay of the Dursleys, Harry attends Hogwarts. The year is a transition for Harry as he learns about things he never knew existed, makes friends and enemies, and learns the truth about who he is.
Critical Evaluation: The Harry Potter series is my absolute favorite series of books. I didn't start reading them until 2004, so I was a little behind. I started by listening to this book, narrated by Jim Dale, and was hooked. Since then I've read each book and listened to each book at least twice, and gone to each midnight premiere since the Prisoner of Azkaban. These books certainly have a way of sucking the reader in. Rowling does a magnificent job of describing Harry's world without making it monotonous. And the world itself has so much detail involved, no wonder there are wiki sites devoted to every aspect of the world.
Reader's Annotation: Harry, an orphan living with his unloving aunt and uncle, learns the truth about his past and his parents and sets out on a quest to become a wizard.
Author Bio: Born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in 1965, she grew up in Chepstow, England. She studied French and Classics at Exeter University and moved to London to work at Amnesty International after she graduated. During a delayed train trip from Manchester to King's Cross Station in London she started writing Harry Potter. It took five years to plan out the series before she started writing. Later she moved to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language. She married in 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. After her divorce she and her daughter moved to Edinburgh. In 2001 Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray, had son David in 2003 and daughter Mackenzie in 2005.
Genre: Fantasy
Curriculum Ties: A good way to discuss how to write and create elaborate works of fiction. Have students try to create their own alternate world.
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about how it would feel if they were orphans thinking one thing happened to their parents when really they led a secret life.
Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 9 and up
Challenges: The witchcraft focus of the books will definitely cause issues.
Reason for including: The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites and definitely a hit among tweens.
Critical Evaluation: The Harry Potter series is my absolute favorite series of books. I didn't start reading them until 2004, so I was a little behind. I started by listening to this book, narrated by Jim Dale, and was hooked. Since then I've read each book and listened to each book at least twice, and gone to each midnight premiere since the Prisoner of Azkaban. These books certainly have a way of sucking the reader in. Rowling does a magnificent job of describing Harry's world without making it monotonous. And the world itself has so much detail involved, no wonder there are wiki sites devoted to every aspect of the world.
Reader's Annotation: Harry, an orphan living with his unloving aunt and uncle, learns the truth about his past and his parents and sets out on a quest to become a wizard.
Author Bio: Born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in 1965, she grew up in Chepstow, England. She studied French and Classics at Exeter University and moved to London to work at Amnesty International after she graduated. During a delayed train trip from Manchester to King's Cross Station in London she started writing Harry Potter. It took five years to plan out the series before she started writing. Later she moved to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language. She married in 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. After her divorce she and her daughter moved to Edinburgh. In 2001 Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray, had son David in 2003 and daughter Mackenzie in 2005.
Genre: Fantasy
Curriculum Ties: A good way to discuss how to write and create elaborate works of fiction. Have students try to create their own alternate world.
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about how it would feel if they were orphans thinking one thing happened to their parents when really they led a secret life.
Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 9 and up
Challenges: The witchcraft focus of the books will definitely cause issues.
Reason for including: The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites and definitely a hit among tweens.
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