Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable muggle aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were.
But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright.
From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.]]>
Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?
But Quidditch buffs need not go into mourning: we get our share of this great game at the World Cup. Attempting to go incognito as Muggles, 100,000 witches and wizards converge on a "nice deserted moor." As ever, Rowling magicks up the details that make her world so vivid, and so comic. Several spectators' tents, for instance, are entirely unquotidian. One is a minipalace, complete with live peacocks; another has three floors and multiple turrets. And the sports paraphernalia on offer includes rosettes "squealing the names of the players" as well as "tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves." Needless to say, the two teams are decidedly different, down to their mascots. Bulgaria is supported by the beautiful veela, who instantly enchant everyone--including Ireland's supporters--over to their side. Until, that is, thousands of tiny cheerleaders engage in some pyrotechnics of their own: "The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field."
Long before her fourth installment appeared, Rowling warned that it would be darker, and it's true that every exhilaration is equaled by a moment that has us fearing for Harry's life, the book's emotions running as deep as its dangers. Along the way, though, she conjures up such new characters as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, a Dark Wizard catcher who may or may not be getting paranoid in his old age, and Rita Skeeter, who beetles around Hogwarts in search of stories. (This Daily Prophet scoop artist has a Quick-Quotes Quill that turns even the most innocent assertion into tabloid innuendo.) And at her bedazzling close, Rowling leaves several plot strands open, awaiting book 5. This fan is ready to wager that the author herself is part veela--her pen her wand, her commitment to her world complete. (Ages 9 and older) --Kerry Fried
]]> A darker book than any in the series thus far with a level of sophistication belying its genre, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves the series into murkier waters and marks the arrival of Rowling onto the adult literary scene. While she has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. With each book in her increasingly remarkable series, fans have nervously watched J.K. Rowling raise the stakes; gone are the simple delights of butterbeer and enchanted candy, and days when the worst ailment could be cured by a bite of chocolate. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. But this should not come as a shock to loyal readers. Rowling readied fans with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by killing off popular characters and engaging the young students in battle. Still, there is an unexpected bleakness from the start of Book 6 that casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework. Ready or not, the tremendous ending of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will leave stunned fans wondering what great and terrible events await in Book 7 if this sinister darkness is meant to light the way. --Daphne Durham <p clear="all"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">Visit the Harry Potter Store
Our Harry Potter Store features all things Harry, including books (box sets and collector's editions), audio CDs and cassettes, DVDs, soundtracks, games, and more. <br clear="all">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">Begin at the Beginning
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr class="tiny" valign="top" align="center"> <td> Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Hardcover
Paperback <td>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hardcover
Paperback <td>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hardcover
Paperback <td>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hardcover
Paperback <td>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hardcover
Paperback <br clear= "all"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy. <p clear="all">Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr valign="top" align="left"> <td> <td>* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat. <p clear="all"> Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr valign="top" align="left"> <td> <td>* The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms. <p clear="all"> Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr valign="top" align="left"> <td> <td>* Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape. <p clear="all"> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr valign="top" align="left"> <td> <td>* Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses. <p clear="all"> Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
<table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr valign="top" align="left">
<td> <td>* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.
<p clear="all"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I'm sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling
Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
<br clear="all">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">Did You Know? <table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="95%" cellspacing="4"> <tr> <td>
<td valign=center>The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. <td>
<td valign=center>Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. <td> 
<td valign=center>Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer. <p clear="all"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="cc6600">A Few Words from Mary GrandPré 
"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.
Harry has alot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. But all these things pale next to the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - a threat that neither the magical government nor the authorities at Hogwarts can stop.
As the grasp of darkness tightens, Harry must discover the true depth and strength of his friends, the importance of boundless loyalty, and the shocking price of unbearable sacrifice.
His fate depends on them all."
-from the back cover-]]>
Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible--including risking their own lives--to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student concerns--fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic professors--seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific, fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next installment. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
]]>From the Trade Paperback edition.]]>
So begins the journey of Wendy, John, and Michael Darling as they follow Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, to a world where fairies live and children can fly. But beware--dangers abound in this magical land of mermaids, Indians, and fairy dust.
There's always an adventure to be had in Neverland. so come along with the Darling children as they soar into the night sky "second star to the right and straight on till morning."]]>
An unabridged recording on 7 CDs (7 hours, 53 minutes).]]>
Otherwise, it's all one grand and glorious string of captures, escapes and cliffhangers, with a large supporting cast featuring a flying camel, a giant snake, a mad Russian rocket scientist and lots of monkeys. In the end, all's been set right and the main characters are, more or less, in place for the opening of Peter Pan, to which this has all been a prelude. Kudos to Barry and Pearson for a funny, clever, melodramatic romp." -- Kirkus Reviews]]>
Here we meet young Nat Field, a boy actor visiting London to perform at The Globe Theatre. Nat soon falls ill, and much to the amazement of the doctors looking after him, he has contracted the Bubonic Plague. As one young actor lies in isolation in Guy's Hospital, another wakes up in Elizabethan London and is drawn into rehearsals for A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside William Shakespeare himself and the two form a bond that can never be broken, even through time.
King of Shadows is a daring and complex novel, set against the backdrop of the life of an unhappy child who, by travelling unwittingly through time, learns how to face his real life troubles. As ever, Cooper's delicious descriptive prose combine with her elegant dialogue to bring her characters vividly to life, never taking the easy option, but allowing her players to develop and come to terms with their lives in their own time.
A remarkable book that is as intriguing as it is entertaining, King of Shadows could well be the best Susan Cooper yet. (Age 10 and over) --Susan Harrison
]]>Life on Mollusk Island has settled into a regular rhythm after all the excitement surrounding the arrival of Peter, Molly, and the pirates. But one day when Little Scallop and a few of her mermaid friends venture beyond the boundaries set by their parents, big trouble awaits them. Then the young mermaid Surf is grabbed by Crookshank's men and taken aboard his ship, the Carnivale. To her shock, Surf finds that he plans to make her part of his circus at sea just another sideshow attraction. With quick thinking and her indomitable spirit, Little Scallop, Teacher, James, and Surf's twin Aqua devise a plan and rescue Surf in the nick of time.
This first volume of a new series by the bestselling team behind Peter and the Starcatchers introduces even more of the inhabitants of Never Land. Little Scallop and a few of her mermaid friends venture beyond the boundaries set by their parents—and trouble soon follows.]]>
]]>
"Seventy years ago the musical fable Peter and the Wolf unexpectedly took the world by storm. Written and composed by the Russian Serge Prokofiev, this droll story for narrator and orchestra has sold millions of recordings in countless versions, narrated by great performers from Sir John Gielgud to Sting. The only problem up until now has been that Peter and the Wolf composed specifically for children, and featuring a narrator with orchestra - is practically the only piece of its kind. The vast audience that loves Peter has not been able to find a similarly enchanting musical story. But now all that will change! The Shoe Bird has arrived!
In The Shoe Bird multi-Grammy-award-winning performer and Guinness World RecordsTM holder Jim Dale brings to life a flock of unforgettable bird characters Arturo the parrot, Gloria the goose, Minerva the owl, even the extinct Dodo! This is Eudora Weltys fantastical story of how some feathered friends made a fateful switch from flying to wearing shoes, little knowing that they would soon become the prey of Freddy the Cat!]]>
In The Shoe Bird multi-Grammy-award-winning performer and Guinness World Records™ holder Jim Dale brings to life a flock of unforgettable bird characters – Arturo the parrot, Gloria the goose, Minerva the owl, even the extinct Dodo! This is Eudora Welty’s fantastical story of how some feathered friends made a fateful switch from flying to wearing shoes, little knowing that they would soon become the prey of Freddy the Cat! Masterfully scored for full symphony orchestra and children’s choirs by Welty’s fellow Mississippian Samuel Jones, The Shoe Bird appeals immediately to children and adults, just like the classic Peter and the Wolf.
The Shoe Bird is a new work that reinvigorates a great tradition of storytelling fun for the whole family. It can be heard again and again, always rewarding the listener with the wit and wisdom of Eudora Welty, the delightful animal characters impersonated by Jim Dale, and the rich musical background of full symphony orchestra and chorus. Jim Dale is very enthusiastic and ready to promote The Shoe Bird which he considers one of his favorite recording projects.]]>