Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Harry Potter, Book 3

There's a little diversity at Hogwarts. Lee Jordan is described as having dreadlocks, and the Patil twins are in Gryffindor house. Cho Chang is introduced in this book for the first time as the Ravenclaw Seeker on the Quidditch team. Some diverse family structures are described: Harry lives with his aunt and uncle and Neville with his grandmother. Harry and Ron bond over growing up with second-hand clothes and wishing they had more money; Ron's insecurity over being from a poorer family comes up a lot. Women have prominent roles at Hogwarts: Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout are both heads of houses. There are three girls on the Gryffindor quidditch team. There's only one larger-sized character who isn't a bad guy, and that's Hagrid. Lots of negative language around the size of Dudley and his father and Malfoy's Slytherin friends Crabbe and Goyle, plus Peter Pettigrew in his school years was described as "a fat little boy" by one of the teachers.

Dementors are introduced here, the black hooded, floating, eyeless and decayed-looking guards that suck happiness out of people and cause them to relive their worst memories -- in Harry's case, he keeps reliving the moment when his mother screams and is killed by Voldemort with a curse. Dementors can also suck souls out of bodies and they almost do once. Magical animals attack and cause injuries. A large dog fights a werewolf. Humans get broken limbs and get knocked out by spells and a fall from a broomstick. A man stands over a bed with a knife. In a moment of uncontrolled magic and anger, an unsavory relative gets blown up like a balloon. Talk of a curse that killed 13 people and an escaped convict after revenge and more details emerge about the death of Harry's parents.

One "damn" and "b-" spelled that way.

Harry's Aunt Marge drinks wine and brandy, adults drink in a bar, and Hagrid is drunk twice, once out of sadness (Hermione tells him he's had enough and takes away his tankard) and once in celebration.

Parents need to know that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series about an orphan boy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The series gets more layered and scarier from here on. Not only does Prisoner of Azkaban introduce the dreaded dementors -- the black hooded, floating, eyeless and decayed-looking guards that suck happiness out of people -- but the overall plotting is much more complex. Professor Lupin and Sirius Black have a number of complicated secrets that come to light near the end, and there's a major betrayal that figures in as well. Younger kids may not keep up with what's going on and will therefore not be set up well to understand the rest of the series. The scariest parts are involving dementors. When Harry encounters them, he relives a buried memory of when his mother screams and is killed by Voldemort with a curse. Dementors can also suck souls out of bodies and they almost do once. Magical animals attack and cause injuries, a large dog fights a werewolf, and humans get broken limbs and are knocked out. Expect a few scenes of drinking by adults, some to excess. In one, Hermione tells Hagrid he's had enough and takes away his drink. There are the usual positive messages from the series about bravery and sacrifice and the power of love. In this book (and much less so in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie), Harry, Ron, and Hermione, usually the model of dedicated friends, are at odds because Hermione wants to protect Harry and Harry wants to live his life like he's not in danger. Hermione is admirable for sticking to her principles and endures the temporary rift it causes. This book is also available in an illustrated edition with art by Jim Kay.