Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this thrill-a-minute story, the first in the Harry Potter series, respects kids' intelligence and motivates children to tackle its greater length and complexity, play imaginative games, and try to solve its logical puzzles. It's the lightest in the series, but it still has some scary stuff for sensitive readers: a three-headed dog, an attacking troll, a violent life-size chess board, a hooded figure over a dead and bleeding unicorn, as well as a discussion of how Harry's parents died years ago.
Families can talk about Harry's new magical world. What is the most surprising? Would you like to take a pet to school every day? Why can't Voldemort touch Harry?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Tara L. Rivera
How can a parent compete with video-game addiction and the mindlessness of the Cartoon Network? J. K. Rowling has solved that dilemma with her wildly popular series about Harry Potter. This publishing marvel has proven once and for all that kids really can love great books.
Part of Harry's appeal is that he could be any ordinary 11-year-old boy: small and skinny, with unruly hair, plus glasses held together with Scotch tape. But he is bright and competent, and he discovers he has an aptitude for magic -- and Quidditch. Harry is the underdog readers will root for.
Rowling has taken everyday situations such as going to school, playing sports, and doing homework, and convincingly combined them with fantasy to create a world more accessible to tweens than J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. From the school-supply lists ("students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad") to Quidditch ("like soccer in the muggle world ... played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls"), the book is packed with entertaining details and creative riffs on modern life.
Twists and turns make this story resemble a junior Grisham thriller. While loose ends are expertly tied, more threads become unraveled.
From The Book
Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. And then they heard it -- low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed -- at the end of a passage to the left, something was moving toward them.
Plot Summary:
Harry's magical parents were killed by the evil wizard Voldemort when he was just a baby. Miraculously, he survives with only a lightning-bolt scar as a mysterious reminder. Harry is taken to live with his nasty relatives -- muggles, or non-wizards -- who hide the truth about his parents. Ten miserable years later, he gets a visit from a genial half-giant named Hagrid with an invitation to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
At Hogwarts, Harry makes friends, fights trolls, learns how to play the fantastic aerial school sport, Quidditch, and uncovers a three-headed dog that guards a secret. Meanwhile, he must contend with Professor Snape, who hates him, and Draco Malfoy, a bratty student. When a mystery arises about the Sorcerer's Stone, which is supposed to possess the powers of immortality, Harry discovers that Voldemort is trying to steal it so he can regain his powers.
Related Books:
Other Books by J.K. Rowling:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
Quiddich through the Ages
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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ViolenceKids are in peril often, but at the hand of fantasy creatures most of the time. A three-headed dog chases Harry and friends. Harry and Draco see a dead and bloody unicorn and are chased by a hooded figure in the Forbidden Forest. Harry and friends fight a troll and knock it unconscious, are nearly crushed by a constricting plant, are chased by flying keys, and pummeled by a life-sized chess board. One character dies by turning to dust. Mostly friendly ghosts roam the halls; the ghost Nearly Headless Nick shows how he got the name. Flashback to the (bloodless) death of Harry's parents and much discussion about how they died and the one who killed them. |
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Social BehaviorStrong female characters, but all major characters are white. Positive message about the power of love and friendship. |
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