Title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author JK Rowling
ISBN 054506967X
Publication Information Scholastic Inc
Plot Summary Eleven year old Harry has had a hard life. His family died when he was a baby and he has been reluctantly raised by his aunt and uncle who do not hide their contempt for him and their favoritism of their own son. To compound his trouble, he has odd moments where unexplainable things happen. It is not until Harry's eleventh birthday that he realizes there is a much larger world out there, one in which he is famous. Harry is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is quickly whisked away by Hagrid, a half-giant, into a new world of magic. Here Harry meets his new friends, Hermione and Ron, his teachers, and Headmaster Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time. He also quickly learns that his family was murdered by the greatest villain of all time, Voldemort, a wizard who, it seems, is still alive and bent on becoming great again. Harry learns all about the world of magic, becomes a seeker on the quiddich team, and protects the sorcerer's stone from being stolen by Voldemort.
Critical Evaluation This book is the beginning of a seven part series following Harry from eleven to eighteen and through a series of adventures in a quest to save the world from Voldemort. Harry is a delightful protagonist. We sympathize for him immediately as an orphan and one who is almost abused by his caretakers, so we are thrilled when he finds his true calling. The other characters in the story are equally intriguing. Hermione is the classic overachiever and Ron, the classic underachiever. However, each character has great and important strengths that supplement Harry's personality. Harry has an archetypal mentor in the form of Dumbledore, who recalls both Gandalf and Merlin. Harry's journey itself is very much like the classic quests of Greek/Roman mythology. However, this series has skillfully combined these traditional archetypes with a relatable, fallible hero in a fantasy world that lives just outside our own. The setting is one that any child wishes to be a part of, a magical castle with an abundance of food and no parents. However, this also sets Harry and friends up to have to figure out nearly everything independently. It stresses the values of friendship, honesty, the triumph of good over evil. Thematically this book is not far from the Lord of the Rings stories but it is much more accessible to younger or reluctant readers.
Reader's Annotation Even if you seen the movie, you don't really know the story of Harry.
Author Information- JK Rowling's life story is a famous one at this point. She was living on welfare while she composed this story and now she is, literally, wealthier than the Queen of England. Her life, in many ways, parallels her young protagonist as he realizes what it means to be famous.
Curricular Ties Language Arts/Mythology
Genre Fantasy
Book talking ideas
Challenge issues
Witchcraft, supernatural. This book is frequently challenged in conservative areas like the one where I live, but there is overwhelming support available for this novel, usually from the public long before one has to consult other sources.
- Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
- Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
- Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
- Review approaches from ALA
Interest Age 11-adult
Why I selected this piece It's Harry Potter! When this novel was first released, my husband read it to his special education students. The following year, I read it to my remedial freshmen, and to this day I will have students pick up books from the series to read for the first time, compare to the films, or re-read before a film is released. Many of my students literally grew up with this series, and I believe it will become a classic of children's literature. Although the first book is not really a YA book, the later ones most certainly are. I selected this one simply because it is the beginning of the series.
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