Format: Hardcover An adult friend (age 49)loaned me three Harry Potter books for the summer. Wednesday evening I began the first book and I finished the third today, Saturday morning. I am writing this review before I order the fourth Potter book. Will my friend be surprised to get 4 books back! The authors imagination is vividly presented in a cast of almost believable characters attending a school we all wish we could attend. Classes like Defense Against Dark Arts, Divination, Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures are written as if the author actually attended them and certainly enjoyed every minute of class. More than can be said for most of the classes I have attended. Each book in the series encompasses one year of Harrys fascinating life. The Potter books are written in a way that can charm any age reader. I am 64. A magical readin more ways than one!What a wonderful book! I read it after my 11-year old son suggested it as a change from my usual reading fare of history and biography. It turned out to be much more than just a springtime reading diversion.it became for me a magical reading experience in more ways than one. I was quickly captivated by Harry, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Hermoine, and yes, even the nasty Dursleys, Snape, and Draco Mafoy. Hogwarts came to life for me. I found myself unable to put the book down because it was so exciting and much fun to read! Its easy to understand why my son (and so many kids just like him) love Harry Potter so much.J.K. Rowling proves herself a gifted writer of childrens books, not only because the plot is good and the characters come to life, but also because her writing fires the imagination and teaches positive values.Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is a great book for kids of all ages.from 9 to 99. Its destined to be a classic of childrens literature. Harry Potter and the Sorcerors Stone is one of those rare childrens books that seems to be utterly wasted on children. The plot is engaging, the characters are likeable, and its a good quick read for those older than the specified ages. Im 18, and I finished it in a few hours, then handed it to my mother, who is 39. After she finished it, she agreed that we needed to get the rest of the series. In a family that regularly reads Shakespeare, thats high praise! Its a refreshing and enjoyable way to get your mind off the overly serious Muggle world and bring back a bit of wonder and magic. If youre a parent considering getting this book for your child, please do. But get a copy for yourself as well, and enjoy revisiting your own childhood. With this introductory novel was published in 1997, few would have predicted the unprecedented success this series would produce. And everything that made Harry Potter so successful is all first shown, though hardly fully explained, in this book, HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSPHERS STONE.The novel opens with Harry living under the cupboard with his abusive aunt and uncle. He has had a mean, depressed life, and though an active boy, the sheer amount of trauma he must have endured would scar any child. But the door opens out of this lifestyle. Ive read an interesting theory (obviously not true), that a much different writer than Rowling would have ended Book 7 with Harry having imagined all this fantasy world, where he was so prominent and famous, to help escape the neglect and abuse from the Dursleys.He gets a letter (actually, hundreds) saying he is in fact a wizard. So he is enrolled the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Him, along with his new friend the giant Hagrid, go to Diagon Alley, a magical bazaar, and thus he is thrust into the magical universe so captured the imagination of millions. We soon learn Harry is world famous among wizards for conquering an evil Wizard named Vo - um - He Who Must Not Be Named. Sorry bout that slip. =). Along the way, we learn that Voldemort is after a magical artifiact called the Philosophers Stone (which was, unfortunately, changed from the UK original title to Sorcerers Stone in all other regions). So much of the novel is driven by the three main characters defending this stone from Voldemort.Read more I studied Spanish in high school and university. I am far from a fluent speaker, though I dont think Id get myself killed wandering around in Mexico or Spain. Having read all of the Harry Potter books in English many times, I decided to give this a try to brush up on my Spanish skills. I am only about 50 pages into it (reading Spanish takes me a lot longer than English!) but so far I am enjoying it immensely. Of course, it helps that I know what is happening, but that has also helped me with my understanding of the Spanish. Ive really enjoyed this experience. lighten travelAmazon.com ReviewFrom beloved award-winning author Max Lucado comes Traveling Light, refreshing words wrapped around the biblic