Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 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.

Is It Any Good?

How can a parent compete with video-game addiction and the mindlessness of the Cartoon Network? With the wildly popular Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling has solved that dilemma by proving once and for all that kids really can love great books. Twists and turns make this story resemble a junior Grisham thriller in which loose ends are expertly tied and more threads become compellingly unraveled.

Part of Harry's appeal is that he could be any ordinary 11-year-old boy, an underdog readers will root for: small and skinny, with unruly hair, plus glasses held together with Scotch tape. But he is also bright and competent, and he discovers he has an aptitude for magic -- and Quidditch. Rowling has also 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.