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Summary: Teach Your Children to Think For Themselves!
Review: One of the most important things you can teach your children is independent, analytical thinking! So, of course, as soon as libraries and school districts start talking about banning a book, it's the first one you should buy! And what a great investment this book is. Harry Potter and his adventures will keep your kids enthralled, reading, thinking, and using their imaginations. "We want our kids to read! Oh, but not this one. . ." My home is filled with books on every subject (no one knows this like Amazon.com!) and my son is encouraged to read anything he can get his hands on. When he's choosing Harry Potter over Nintendo, how can you argue with THAT!
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Summary: I think more adults read it than kids...
Review: Or at least, that's the feeling I get from talking to my friends. What can I say about the book that hasn't already been said? If you loved fantasy as a child (or discovered it as an adult) you need to read this book. A breath of fresh air in children's publishing.
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Summary: Magical fun
Review: Ordinary kids doing supernatural things. A baby is orphaned when his parents are killed by a wizard. The baby is brought up by a mean aunt and uncle, who denigrate his parent's magic and favor their own son over him. Because he survived the wizard's attack, he is famous and invited to attend a boarding school, an ordinary English school, except they teach potions and spells. The hallways are haunted by ghosts. The hero must solve a mystery and overcome another attack. I laughed, cried and gasped in amazement. As Shaw implied, is all this wasted on the young?
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Summary: Classic, Humorous British Fantasy
Review: Originally, I was loath to succumb to all the mania surrounding the Harry Potter series. However, recently I was lucky enough to come across a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I initially began to read it as a last ditch effort to fend off the encroaching boredom of Summertime, but, much to my own initial horror, I began to enjoy the thing! Rowling's first book is a clever, moving, and surprising narrative squarely-set in the distinguished tradition of Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien. (She even abbreviates her name like them, which is cute.) I'm glad that, for once in this age of N Syncs and Britney Spears, mainstream American pop culture has seized upon something with a refreshing measure of intellectual and emotional heft. I will soon be acquiring the remaining books in the series.
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Summary: A Broomstick Is For Life, Not Just For Hallow'een
Review: Orphaned as a baby, Harry Potter hasn't had the happiest of lives. Raised (in the loosest possible terms) by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, he never knew his parents and was not allowed to mention them. According to his Uncle and Aunt, they'd died in a car crash - the same accident that left a lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. Forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, fed sparingly and only given his cousin's cast-offs to wear, he dreamed of his unlikely escape. Incredibly, though, the escape comes. After a mysterious flurry of letters addressed to Harry and withheld from him by his Uncle and Aunt, Harry finds out on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard. Visited by an apparent giant called Hagrid, he finds learns a little about his own past and the truth about how his parents died. They were killed at the hands of an evil wizard called Voldemort, who also tried to kill Harry himself. For some strange reason, however, he couldn't and he hasn't been seen since. This attack was the real cause of his strange scar. He also finds out about some of the plans for his future - which include attending Hogwarts, a school for training young witches and wizards. His learning is not restricted to spells, however - he will also be learning about the way wizards live. He never realised, for example, that wizards have their own newspaper ("The Daily Prophet") and bank (Gringotts). Visiting Gringotts for the first time with Hagrid, his tall friend takes something mysterious from one of the vaults. Harry later finds that there has been an attempted theft at the bank on the same day they visited....
The majority of the book is centred on Harry's first year at Hogwarts. The school is made up of four houses, each with its own distinct personality. These houses include Gryffindor (the house Harry's parents belonged to) and Slytherin (the house that spawned practically every wizard that ever went bad). For the first time ever, Harry also makes friends - the very ginger Ron Weasley and the very bossy Hermione Granger. Despite these faults (!!), however, they become very loyal friends to Harry and are genuinely likeable. Among the books other notable characters are Albus Dumbledore (the kind and wise headmaster), Minerva McGonagall (the firm Head of Gryffindor) and the school's groundskeeper Hagrid (a close friend and confidante of Harry's). Naturally, there are some other rather less likeable characters - the sneering Draco Malfoy (a first year from Slytherin house) and Professor Snape, who takes an instant dislike to Harry. Snape, as well as being Head of Slytherin, is also the Potions teacher. However, it is widely known he wants to teach the Defence against the Dark Arts class - currently taught by the permanently petrified Professor Quirrell. First published in 1997, this is first in the hugely popular series of books that has made J.K. Rowling a household name. It's an entertaining and very easily read book - it will certainly be enjoyed by children and also by adults willing to give it a chance.
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Summary: Great for the whole family
Review: Our 13 yr-old daughter started to read this book to our 6 yr-old daughter on a trip and we made her start at the begining because we were all mezmerized by the story. Now we read it as a family every night before bed. We like it so much we bought 2 & 3 and are waiting for the 4th one to come out. J.K. Rowling is a outstanding story teller. She cast a spell on our family!
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Summary: Ultra-Fantastic!
Review: Our dad has read many books to us before, but we all agree that the Harry Potter books are the best so far! We think that they are so good that every night we read them. We highly recommend them to anyone who needs a good book to read.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: Our English class read, this book I first thought it was boring I was wrong it's not great book I am, reading the 2nd Year hope the 1st book makes a great movie...This is worth the $ and worth reading........
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Summary: Harry Potter RULES!
Review: Our teacher just finished reading this book to us in school......AND IT ROCKS! In basic, it's about a boy who lived with an uncle, an aunt, and a spoiled-rotten cousin who all detest him...(deep breath) for the first eleven years of his life. Then he starts getting mystery letters, is visited by a huge giant named Hagrid, and before ya know it, he's enrolled in a school of wizardy and witchcraft called Hogwarts. I thought this book was AWESOME, and I CANT WAIT to read the next two books. If you like fantasy, magic, and have read the Chronicles of Narnia, this book will give a jumpstart to your day. READ IT!
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Summary: Didn't know it was a children's book til it was too late!
Review: Our Unity minister mentioned this book in a Sunday lesson several weeks ago to support his "find your tribe" message, and he used Harry Potter as one who had. He never mentioned more, so when a friend got it for me, I was surprised that it was for children. But, read one chapter, and you're hooked. What a fun and uplifting tale for children of ALL ages. I'll look for J.K.'s others.
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