Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Written by J. K. Rowling & illustrated by Mary GrandPré
Book #1 in the Harry Potter Series
$29.99
$28.49
9 - 12
Reading age
320
Page count
242
Words per page
880L
Lexile measure
Sep 1, 1998
Publication date

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What's This Book About

Publisher Summary

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

What Kind of Book is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Primarily about

Locations

Reviews

    Marmee
    1
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    7
    7.00

    It's Harry Potter... a.k.a. the gold standard by which children's literature will be measured for years... need I say more? The classic battle between good and evil, a beautifully constructed magical world, and intricate backstory all set in a perfectly appropriate eleven-year-old's version of the world with school, teachers, friends, sports (Quidditch!) and rivalries with bullies.

    The New York Times
    Critic
    Michael Winerip
    Full review

    "Throughout most of the book, the characters are impressively three-dimensional (occasionally four-dimensional!) and move along seamlessly through the narrative. However, a few times in the last four chapters, the storytelling begins to sputter, and there are twists I found irritating and contrived. To serve the plot, characters begin behaving out of character. Most noticeably, Hagrid, the gentle giant of a groundskeeper who has selflessly protected Harry over and over, suddenly turns so selfish he is willing to let Harry be punished for something that is Hagrid's fault. That's not the Hagrid I'd come to know. These are minor criticisms. On the whole, *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* is as funny, moving and impressive as the story behind its writing. J. K. Rowling, a teacher by training, was a 30-year-old single mother living on welfare in a cold one-bedroom flat in Edinburgh when she began writing it in longhand during her baby daughter's nap times. But like Harry Potter, she had wizardry inside, and has soared beyond her modest Muggle surroundings to achieve something quite special."

    USA Today
    Critic
    Cathy Hainer
    Full review

    "Harry Potter also has echoes of children's classics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. With the help of a noble if nitwitted giant, a few inept but big-hearted student magicians, even a concerned if somewhat distant centaur, Harry takes on powers bigger and stronger than him, growing older and wiser in the process. You don't have to be a wizard or a kid to appreciate the spell cast by Harry Potter."

    BookPage
    Critic
    Denise Yagel
    Full review

    "Published to praise and awards, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is as inventive and engaging a title as one could hope to find. Designated for ages 8 to 12, but written for anyone who loves a good tale well told, this is a book to engage the mind and grab the heart . . . and J.K Rowling is a writer to watch and remember."

    The Guardian
    Critic
    Anthony Holden
    Full review

    "I brave the wrath of millions by daring to say so, but it really doesn't take a high-minded killjoy to worry what these books are doing to the literary taste of millions of potential young readers...What I do object to is a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style which has left me with a headache and a sense of a wasted opportunity. If Rowling is blessed with this magic gift of tapping into young minds, I can only wish she had made better use of it. Her characters, unlike life's, are all black-and-white . Her story-lines are predictable, the suspense minimal, the sentimentality cloying every page. (Did Harry, like so many child-heroes before him, HAVE to be yet another poignant orphan?)".

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What Has J. K. Rowling Said About This Book

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What Has Mary GrandPré Said About This Book

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Book Details

ISBN
9780590353403
Publication Date
September 1, 1998
Publisher
Scholastic
Page Count
320
Words Per Page
242
Audience
Middle Grade
Reading Age
9 - 12 years
Lib. of Congress (LCCN)
99050266
WorldCat Number (OCLC)
228439951
Lexile® Level
880L
Est. Fountas & Pinnell Level
~U
ATOS® Book Level
5.5
Accelerated Reader® Points
12
Accelerated Reader Quiz
26759
Accelerated Reader Interest Level
MG

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