this is a very good book

Great book - I love her imagination and the amount of detail in each character. I listened to this book on CD with Jim Dale as the narrator - he does an excellent job and really assists with visualization! ( )

HP and the PS is such a great read. Rowling hit the nail on the head with this series and I only wish I could write something so fantastic. ( )

Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone is about a young boy named Harry Potter. Harry lives with his aunt and uncle's. Then he discovers he's a wizard. Then after the summer Harry goes to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Along the journey Harry meets two friends Ron,and Hermione. Along the way they have to figure out who's going to steel the sorcerers stone. ( )

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is a book about a young boy coming of age. Harry was left with his aunt and uncle when he was a baby after his parents were murdered. In this book Harry learns of his magical inheritance and spends his first year at Hogwarts, a magic school. Also he learns more about how his parents were killed and who killed them. Harry's first year is filled with obstacles that he must overcome along with doing his schoolwork.
I loved this first book of the series. Harry ties a make believe world with a real world. The author leaves you wanting more. I couldn't put this book down until I was done, and then I was in a hurry to get the next installment.
It would be a good book for middle school to junior high students. I would use this book in class to show how some things are not as they appear. This book could also be used to do some science projects.

My 10 year old son was not a reader but every Christmas I bought him a book hoping to spark his interest. One year I bought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, at the time 2 other books in the series had already been published. He read it in two days, and begged for the next one, we bought him 2 and 3, he read them before he went back to school after Christmas break. Then he told the rest of the family we had to read them. One day I finally picked it up and was hooked, as was the whole family. These books span all ages, J.K. Rowling actually did something few authors could ever do. People, especially children put down video games, turned off the T.V., and picked up a book. We were the nerds who stood in line at midnight just to get the first copy. We were not alone, hundreds stood along side us. We never left the store with less than 3 copies, so we could pass them to each other faster. I think these books are a magical fantasy that works on everyone's imagination. I wish she would do another series of books like this, but then maybe nothing could top Harry Potter. ( )

The story is not bad but the lack of proper character development left me unsatisfied. A good YA book, for sure, but I wonder why so many adults seem to love the Harry Potter books. ( )

The story is not bad but the lack of proper character development left me unsatisfied. A good YA book, for sure, but I wonder why so many adults seem to love the Harry Potter books. ( )

A great start to the series. In retrospective, this book tells a far more innocent story and yet is shot through with this sense of foreboding. A great start to a series that only improved. ( )

This book is great! (Currently reading) I like J.K. Rowling's inspiring imagination. KUTOS to J.K. Rowling! ( )

Harry Potter who is an orphan for the first eleven years ofhis life grows up with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Dudley who mistreat him. He is made to live under the stairs, not included in family outings, and works as their slave. In contrast his cousin Dudley is spoiled rotten and a bully can do no wrong in the eyes of his parents. On Harry's 11th birthday he finds out that he is a wizard and has been accepted into Hogwarts school of Wizardy. Here Harry finds the acceptance and friendship that had been missing in his previoius life. He also finds that he is famous in the wizarding world.

A young boy named Harry Potter, is reluctantly being raised his aunt and uncle. With his 11th birthday soon approaching, he discovers he is a wizard, and that he is about to start magical training at Hogwarts acadamy. Upon his arrival, he soon discovers he is famous, because of his infantile triumph over the darkest wizard in history. We follow Harry as he embarks from making friends to making potions, to discovering that the dark lord, Voldemort, may not be as defeated as he may seen. From forging heart-warming friendships to fighting to protect Sorcesors Stone, Harry discovers a strength and bravery that he never knew he had.

I loved this book. It really kept me in suspense on what was going to happen next. I couldn't put it down. I have read the other Harry Potter Books, but this was my all-time favorite.

One activity you could do with children would be since the story really never says what Voldemort looked like, they could draw a picture of what they might envision him looking like and compare with the class. Another activity you could do is have this as a chapter reading everyday, then have the children write in their journal about how they felt, what they thought was going to happen next, or so on. Then maybe read it the next day after you have read the next chapter and compare, what happened compared to their journal entries.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first instalment in J. K. Rowling's famous Harry Potter series, which I am sure you all know by now.

Despite the fact that the Philosopher's Stone, and the Harry Potter series for that matter, was not too well known until the release of the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the film adaptation of the first book, I portray it as the most magical and unique book of the series.
The darkness is all there, but hidden deep inside the walls of Hogwarts. I love it how such a unique book was introduced into our world and I strongly believe that I would not be here on LibraryThing at all if it weren't for J. K's masterpiece. She truly inspired me, and I'm sure influenced millions of children into the reading world and shown her audience what a wonderful place are concealed in the pages.

I usually give a brief plot summary of books I review, but as this is such a famous book, and most readers are likely to have read this book, I will not give a summary of it, but I will however, inform you of a few of the magical content...
I loved the three-headed dog; how a dangerous, intimidating creature such as this could be given a name like Fluffy. Stupid as it is that a hellhound would be given this name, it's oddly believable and I was somewhat disappointed that Fluffy was only in the first volume of the series. But I suppose there's a time and place for three-headed dogs called Fluffy and sadly that place can only be over a trapped door.
Goblins, Unicorns, Centaurs, Witches, Wizards...all of these are very familiar in tales told to us as children, common in many mythologies; yet, no story, no writer, could ever rival the way Rowling depicted these creatures in her books.

And now, we come to our famous villian, Lord Voldemort, as of book one we have very sparse knowledge of this character, but he emerges as terrifying as ever, he's killed Harry's parents and he's killed many more, and penetrated even the presence of Albus Dumbledore himself, what more could he do?

I'm real badass hungry so I'm gonna have to cut this review short, I recommend this book to readers of all ages, it's an easy read and unputdownable (metaphorically speaking of course), and the story will even invigorate the minds of the youth who simply hate reading and inspire them to read more outside of the series, it definitely got me into reading... ( )

I don't give out five star ratings very often. In my view a book has to be simply excellent to warrant it - it has to be a book that I return to again and again. In my opinion, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone falls into this category. It isn't as though it's a perfect book - the writing is pretty ropey at times and the basic story is not dissimilar to others I have read - but it is a warm, entertaining, and very inventive read.

Who doesn't know the story by now? Harry Potter is on the cusp of his eleventh birthday, living with the beastly Dursleys, when he is visited by Rubeus Hagrid who informs Harry that he is a wizard. From here Harry goes to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He finds out that he is famous, thanks to events that occurred when he was just a child and managed to defeat Voldemort (or He Who Must Not Be Named). In this first tale about Harry, we are swept into the world of wizardry and straight into a first-class mystery about the object being guarded by a three-headed dog...

So why do I love this book so much? Well, I can tell you why I don't love it! The plot is straight out of other books - who hasn't read about the orphan child who discovers hidden powers, and learns to use them in order to defeat evil? When have we not met a kindly elderly gentleman with long white hair and rather formidable magic skills? I can name a number of authors who have written about similar ideas, especially in the field of fantasy. Rowling is writing nothing original here, in terms of plot.

The reason why I was so taken by this lovely debut novel is the 'surroundings' to the plot. The world of Hogwarts and the fantastic little twists on familiar items that Rowling adds in are simply superb. Right from the first time we hear about chocolate frogs that can actually jump, and portraits which the subjects sometimes leave, I was hooked and felt that every little detail of the world was delightful.

Rowling also writes with great humour and an appreciation for the minds of children, and what would appeal to them. My favourite moment in this respect is when Harry and Ron are being held by the Devil's Weed and Hermione is fretting about not having wood for a fire when Ron yells "Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not?" The relationship between the three main characters is written beautifully, from the way they defend each other to the bickering that breaks out amongst them.

In fact, all of the characters are very solid - it is easy to see this when people who have read the series pick out different favourites! I enjoyed the sarcasm and quiet menace of Snape, and was keen to find out more about the reasons why he hates Harry so much. McGonagall reminds me of my old English teacher (stern, but with a heart of gold underneath).

The writing is reminiscent of both Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. From the former, Rowling cherrypicks ideas from her various school stories (e.g. Malory Towers - castle-like school on a cliff, with four Houses, travel by train to get there). From the latter, she uses the sheer inventiveness and wit of taking common items or ideas and turning them on their heads. I have no objections to the hint of plagiarism since I love both authors and hence have taken this series to my heart as well.

Extremely good fun and a great way to encourage younger readers. Highly recommended. ( )

I was surprised that I ended up liking this book. I did not like it up until the last chapter and actually swore off the other books up until that point. The last chapter sucked me in and now I have to listen to the others. I really enjoyed this story.

Dumbledore reminds me of Bishop Hubbard, which is a huge compliment to someone. I met Bishop Hubbard before hearing the last chapter. I absolutely loved him (he is so nice!). When I heard the last chapter I could better understand the role of Dumbledore and just imagined Bishop Hubbard in his role.

Adrianne ( )

i thing that harry potter is the best book but the action gose down alot but thats ok thourgh it is the book i think young reader should read this book you will get this . ( )

OT: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ( )

Just re-read the first first of the HP series, and even though I've read the entire collection, still enjoyed it as much as my original reading. It introduces many of the future characters and sets the scene for Harry's relationships. ( )

soooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I first read this when my daughter was in third grade, I think. She has dyslexia & a learning recall issue. I'd heard it was good & picked it up a the school's book fair. After reading it, I was thrilled & got her to read it. She was in special ed for reading at the time & the teacher told me I was over-facing her. It did take her a long time to read it, but she really liked the story & stuck with it. By the time she was in 4th grade, she'd read through the 3d or 4th one & was hooked on reading. By 5th grade, she no longer needed any special ed for reading & she was reading everything in sight. I credit Rowling's wonderful story for her success at reading. She captured my daughter's imagination. The story is quite good. Fairly unique, imaginative & full of interesting bits. I didn't enjoy the later books as much as I did the first ones, although I think her writing improved as the series wore on. May have just been me burning out on the world. I give it 5 stars because I think it will go down as a classic. ( )

Good story, extremely quick read. ( )

JK Rowling, Roald Dahl kill off the parents in their first pages, and send the orphans into the world where they are mistreated, building character, then rescued by guardian angels laying in the wings. Harry is sweet, and normal, and lovable, and all, but the English schoolboy setting with all the stereotypical supporting characters is a little stuffy. Of course its a wacky parallel world, and characters like Hagrid are utterly precious, the heroes little kids need. I find Roald Dahl's writing more psychologically attuned to children's reality, and Rowling more attuned to creating a parallel universe fantasy. Both good, depending on your leanings. And the bottom line is they are good stories that get kids to read.

This was the first novel I ever read and I loved it!!! If you have not read it yet it should be number one on your 'books to read' list. I don't think I even need to explain what it is about, but here goes...
Harry Potter thinks he is just your average and unfortunate kid. His parents died when he was one (apparently in a car crash) and he is left with an ugly scar on his head and he must live with his aunt, uncle and cousin who all hate him.
Then, he meets Hagrid, a gameskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry discovers he is in fact a wizard and his parents didn't die in a car crash but were murdered by a powerful dark wizard - Lord Voldemort. Voldemort tried to kill Harry but he couldn't and his powers failed. Harry Potter is famous in the wizarding world!
But, Harry will soon find there is more to magic than waving a wand and saying some words as he makes friends, meets enemies and battles with dark forces. ( )

I love Harry Potter and I first read this book in the third grade! ( )

As the first book in the Harry Potter series, it was intended for children. It is a thoroughly enjoyable first step as we share Harry's journey of discovery and adventure. Once you start reading, you do not want to stop. ( )