Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Illustrator: Mary Grandpre
Publisher and date of Publication: Scholastic Inc., 1997
Genre: Novel, Fantasy
Age Range: 3rd-8th Grade
Awards: too many to name! Publisher Weekly best book 1998, 1997 National Book Award, etc.
Summary: Harry Potter is a wizard and so are his parents. Volemort kills his parents but Harry survives. Harry is sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousin who mistreat him. He find out on his 11th birthday that he is a wizard and begins school at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is famous there because he survived Volemort trying to kill him. There he finds all sorts of mysterious things. Him and his friends set out to find the sorcerer's stone. Harry runs across Voldemort but Dumbledore saves him just in time. Harry learns that his mom Lily died while protecting him as a baby against Voldemort. The stone was destroyed so that no one would try to get it. Harry nevers finds out why Voldemort tried to kill him.
Response: I've never read any of the Harry Potter series before, and to be honest I didn't like it very much. It is a very long book for children and I found it hard to complete. I know many chidlren and adults as well love these books. I enjoyed the beginning when Harry was with the Dursleys, but I can't imagine treating your own nephew the way Harry is treated. I also can't imagine what went through Harry's mind when he found out he was famous after thinking that no one cared for him at all. I think it was all the witchcraft stuff that I didn't like and the length of the book. When I looked at it, I thought there is no way I'll be able to complete this book. It was a quick read but just took time getting through the whole book. I felt so sorry for Harry at the beginning when he was treated so badly but was glad to see that he finally realized how powerful he really was.
Teaching Ideas: I think children could do just as we are doing and figure out what would be in the mirror if they were holding it. They could also make magical wards and "pretend." There are quizzes on scholastic.com for children to take after reading this book. Scholastic also has neat projects for children to do, including a Hogwart's yearbook for fourth graders and trading cards.
3 comments:
I think that perhaps Harry Potter is one of those books that you have to be in a certain mindset to read. I know that when I went into it with a sort of preconceived notion of what I was reading, I didn't enjoy it as much. When I read it the second time (this time), I went in with a lot different mindset and didn't really have any thoughts as to what the book would be about when I started. I think that really helped me to enjoy it more.
The first time I read Harry Potter was in a "Banned Books" class last year. I approached reading it in much the same way you did; I had many reservations. However, even though this type of book is not my favorite, I did enjoy the story. I definitely agree with the previous post in that you probably do have to be in a certain mindset to read this book and enjoy it.
I think as educators we need to be informed about the books our students are reading and to understand WHY they are appealing to our children. I hope that you recognize this as an educator, even if fantasy novels are not your favorite. I appreciate your honest opinion; I would like to know more specifically what you didn't like about the book. Could you expand? Thanks Kristen :)
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