Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)
Rated by 4 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this thrill-a-minute story, the
first in the Harry Potter series, respects kids' intelligence
and motivates children to tackle its greater length and
complexity, play imaginative games, and try to solve its
logical puzzles. It's the lightest in the series, but it still
has some scary stuff for sensitive readers: a three-headed dog,
an attacking troll, a violent life-size chess board, a hooded
figure over a dead and bleeding unicorn, as well as a
discussion of how Harry's parents died years ago.
Families can talk about Harry's new magical world. What is the most surprising? Would you like to take a pet to school every day? Why can't Voldemort touch Harry?
Common Sense Media Review
How can a parent compete with video-game addiction and the
mindlessness of the Cartoon Network? J. K. Rowling has solved
that dilemma with her wildly popular series about Harry Potter.
This publishing marvel has proven once and for all that kids
really can love great books.
Part of Harry's appeal is that he could be any ordinary 11-year-old boy: small and skinny, with unruly hair, plus glasses held together with Scotch tape. But he is bright and competent, and he discovers he has an aptitude for magic -- and Quidditch. Harry is the underdog readers will root for.
Rowling has taken everyday situations such as going to school, playing sports, and doing homework, and convincingly combined them with fantasy to create a world more accessible to tweens than J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. From the school-supply lists ("students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad") to Quidditch ("like soccer in the muggle world ... played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls"), the book is packed with entertaining details and creative riffs on modern life.
Twists and turns make this story resemble a junior Grisham thriller. While loose ends are expertly tied, more threads become unraveled.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
