Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

3rd Potter is darker, more complex, and fantastic.

Author: J. K. Rowling Illustrator: Mary Grandpré Pages: 435 Publisher: Scholastic Inc. Published Date: 01/01/1999 Genre: Fiction - Fantasy HC Price: $19.99 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: Ages 12-13 Read Aloud: 7-10 Read Alone: 11

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that Rowling continues her great plotting and pacing, but edgier themes appeal more to older kids. For most of the school year, Harry believes he is marked for death and stalked by an escaped prisoner. He also battles a creature of kids' worst nightmares: the Dementors are black-robed floating beings that suck out happiness and feed on your worst fears, which is why Harry hears the sound of his mother's last scream when he sees them. While this can be tough for young and sensitive readers, the bright spot is the Boggart lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Boggarts can turn into what a person fears most, but the kids learn to yell "Ridiculous!" and turn it into something to laugh at.

Families can talk about conquering fears. What can you learn from the way Harry and his friends learn to defeat the Boggarts? The Dementors? If you had a map of your school with everyone on it, what would you do with it? What is the significance of Harry's relationship to Sirius? Did you see the plot twists coming or were they a complete surprise?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Matt Berman

Rowling has sidestepped the usual series-writer trap of sticking so closely to a successful formula that each book is just more of the same. With Harry about to enter adolescence, the series too seems to be changing; this entry is darker, more complex, and morally more ambiguous than the first two. As he is forced by the Dementors to confront his parents' deaths directly, Harry, always so cool in the earlier books, is more emotionally unstable. Unlike the static characters in other series, Harry is getting older, with all that entails.

The author is a master of careful plotting. The surprising climax of the story, after many twists and turns, brings together numerous seemingly unrelated subplots and reveals a bit more about Harry's past. Rowling is rumored to have planned out the whole story of the series in advance (seven total). She has said that she has already written the final chapter of the final book -- and the planning shows.

The complexity is so great that at times it inspires rereading. Late in the story, for example, a time-travel element allows the reader to see the same events twice from different points of view, and many readers find themselves flipping back in the book with a sudden "aha" of understanding. But Rowling knows her readers -- though she stretches their intellects, she never loses them.

From The Book

At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were standing beneath him. It was as though freezing water were rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard it again....Someone was screaming, screaming inside his head ... a woman.

Plot Summary:

One of Voldemort's henchmen has escaped from prison and is out to kill Harry. The soul-sucking Dementors, guards from the prison, are dispatched to protect him, but Harry finds that whenever one comes near he can hear his mother dying. This third entry in the series is scarier and more intense than book two -- and even more exciting.

When he can't stand his relatives' tormenting any more, Harry runs off, only to be picked up by a magical bus and taken to the Leaky Cauldron Inn. There he learns that Sirius Black, who supposedly betrayed his parents, has escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban, and is coming to kill him.

Back at school, Harry finds it guarded by Dementors, guards from Azkaban, who feed on happy thoughts, and whose presence causes Harry to hear his mother's death screams. But Black seems to get into the school anyway, Hermione and the new Dark Arts teacher each have secrets, and Ron's rat Scabbers and Hermione's new cat act strangely.

When Harry obtains a map showing all the secret passages in the school, he makes discoveries about his parents, Snape, Black, and the new teacher. But what he learns may pit him against the Ministry of Magic.

The Movies:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Video Games:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: PC Version
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter: Quiddich World Cup

Web Sites:
JKRowling.com
Mugglenet.com

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some mild flirtations between Ron and Hermione.
Violence Harry believes he is marked for death and stalked by a murderer most of the school year. Children are in peril, often at the hands of magical creatures: Dementors (black-robed floating beings that suck the happiness out of people) attack Harry and others, making Harry hear the sound of his mother dying as he passes out; they almost administer "the kiss of death," extracting a character's soul through his mouth. A hippogriff (eagle-horse mix) is provoked and strikes a student; the same creature is executed by a hatchet. A Boggart in a class demonstration changes shape to match what students are most afraid of (and kids learn to fight their fears with laughter). A large dog breaks Ron's leg. Adult characters threaten to kill another. A werewolf chases Harry and Hermione.
Language
Message
	Social Behavior Harry continues to break rules. Conquering fear is a huge theme here. Friendship, love, bravery, and loyalty are always major themes in the series. So is the idea of making good choices. Strong female characters, but all major characters are white.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Hagrid gets drunk. Butterbeer is introduced (a magical-world drink with a pinch of alcohol) and the kids go to a pub in Hogsmeade.