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Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
This book was published originally as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but the title was changed for America, why? Is it because they thought... children were too stupid to understand what Philosopher meant?... Any child bright enough to read this book is surely bright enough to understand words like Philosopher. It is a long, involved, exciting, gripping story with a large cast of varied characters, full of magic and excitement, I can't believe any child who can appreciate this book would be baffled by the word Philisopher.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
If you're just browsing through books, not sure of what to read, this is where your search ends. For everybody who loves fantasy books, this is a definite 'should read'.This is about an 11-year-old orphan, Harry Potter, who lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin - all of whom are (to put it bluntly) 'not very nice' to Harry. When Harry finds out he's a wizard, it seems his dreams have come true - he gets to leave his relatives house (at least) and go the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is also, in the wizarding world, famous. He makes friends, and it all seems so wonderful.But Harry is famous for a certain reason - and he might just not have the most wonderful time at Hogwarts as he though....
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
When I first opened this book I thought it was going to be some cheesy children's novel. Thank goodness I gave it a chance. The first installment to the Harry Potter series is bewitching and exciting. I couldn't put it down after the first chapter. It's a short read but the story will last for a long time. Tales of a boy wizard and his first year at a school of magic, what could be more fun!
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
This book was introduced to me by a child and now I have read the first two and agree that it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The story is full of entertainment and enchantment while keeping the reader spellbound and entranced from start to finish. I recently finished reading it to my 7 year old daughter and I am in the process of reading the second book to my 4th grade class. Let your mind go and enjoy this delightful tale.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
As many kids and adults before me I thorouly enjoyed reading this book. I couldn't put it down. Every plot line led to something else interesting and you just had to read on. J.K. Rowling did an excellent job writing the plot lines.The story starts when Harry's parents are killed by You-Know-Who and Harry is made to live with his uncle, aunt, and the unbearable cousin Dudley. Harry lives a boring and horrible life as he is mistreated by his relatives. Everything however gets much more interesting on Harry's 11th birthday as everthing seems to be out of ordinary. Harry begins to find out the truth about his past and before he knows it is wisked off to Hogwarts itch and Wizardry School with the giant gameskeeper of Hogwarts named Hagrid.Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione have many adventures as they survive the sorting hat, battle a mountain troll, survive Professor Snape's Potions class,befriend Hagrids Dragon,survive Draco Malfroy and his 2 buddies, and find out the truth about the sorcerer's stone. Sometimes it is very frustrating reading this book because you want the kids so much to tell the teachers what thy have discovered so they don't get into danger but it is impossible. I thourouly enjoyed this book and there wasn't one point in the 3 hours that I was reading it was I bored.Hope I'd helped!
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
If I were twelve, this book would rate five stars. This is because it is a fine children's book, and Rowling must be given credit for constructing the perfect fantasy for a twelve year-old. Harry is alone, neglected, unloved, and misunderstood; these are feelings that come naturally at that age. Harry's cousin is odious, spoiled, and pampered by his adoptive aunt and uncle, while he is mistreated terribly. Who among us has not felt at least once that a sibling was favored over us?But Harry is also something special, as all twelve year-olds want to be. He has special powers, and he is rescued from those who do not appreciate him by a magical fantasy world where not only are all his needs met, but where he has a great destiny, where even the oldest and wisest know his name and power. Vengeance is exacted on the foolish "muggles" in the form of a tail being placed on his fat, spoiled cousin, and the terrible aunt and uncle are humiliated before him by a rescuer who is utterly loyal and overwhelmingly powerful. Adventure and excitement follow.It's easy to see why kids love this, and it's great that so many are reading rather than watching the tripe we are fed these days on television. But what is confusing and even disturbing is how Harry Potter has caught on with adults. Because for an adult, this story fails on many, many levels. Were Harry to be locked under the stairs for weeks at a time by a cruel aunt and uncle, he would be an emotional cripple, sick from living in his own waste, quite incapable of the things he achieves at Hogwarts. One would like to think that social services would appear and remove him from such an abusive environment, and it's likely that he would spend the rest of his life needing regular therapy.As well, the story is problematic as a story, for there is no real dramatic tension here. We know that Harry is messianic, that he has a great destiny, that he is morally pure in a world of unrealistic black-and-white ethics. At no point after his arrival at Hogwarts does he actually fail, and we the readers know that he never will, that he will always be the hero, the star quidditch player, the only one who can face the evil wizard. Were Harry to be less than perfect, to be human and flawed like the rest of us, would expose the fantasy for what it is: shallow and empty, lacking the richness that real life, with all its risks and rewards and moral uncertainty, can bring.In a children's book these flaws may be overlooked; children, and their stories, thrive on hyperbole and exaggeration and simplicity. But for an adult, there are serious ethical problems in this story that the media-induced frenzy surrounding this series has not addressed. Revenge is presented as a virtue; witness the treatment of fat, one-dimensional little Dudley, and the glee with which Harry looks forward to tormenting him at the end of the book. There is a disturbing racial overtone to the work as some people (those with magic powers) are presented as being inherently better than others (muggles). And in the relationships between magical folks and muggles, might, of course, makes right.As we age, it is hoped that we will outgrow such beliefs and prejudices, that our parents and teachers and experience itself will show us that they are wrong. But the fact that adult fans of Harry Potter embrace the series with such enthusiasm makes me wonder if indeed we have, or if we have simply become bigger, better-armed versions of Harry, exacting petty revenge and imposing our power over peoples and nations we find unworthy, and encouraging our children to do the same.Being a mere muggle, I find that prospect rather unsettling.