fun book, i enjoyed it

This was a good book.  The first in the seven book series.  This one is all about Harry's first year at Hogwarts.  He makes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger.  This book leads up to Harry preventing the Sorcerer's Stone from being stolen.

I think this is a decent kids book.

I also think the hype has over-rated it and I also think that as the series has gone on it has weakened badly.

I stopped reading after the fourth one when it became clear Rowling had dispensed with an editor and fallen in love with her wallet.

this book really is written brilliantly. its really really really good.

In honor of the pending release of Book 7, wiseGEEK has put together a collection of articles about Harry, Hogwarts, and other happenings! There's predictions and theories for us experts, but also lots of definitions and background for HP novices!

http://www.wisegeek.com/the-life-and-times-and-possible-death-of-harry-potter.html

Bloody Brilliant!

thanks admerald I always wondered why people called it two different things....but now that that's cleared up... These Harry Potter books are excellent. Any audience can read them...so if you are reading them to your children you will enjoy them also. The sorcerers stone (or philosopher's stone) is not the best of the series but it is necessary to read the first to truly enjoy the rest of them.

ronald weasley iz sooo cul

da propa name is philosophas stone but sum american dikhed of a publisha fought sorcerers was more xcitin wich it isnt tel me wich is more xcitin wizards stone or da maka of stones stone????????????? no 1 hp fan

I would agree with earlier comments that this is an excellent book in its own right, but as you continue through the series, it isn't the greatest. But if you have never picked up a Harry Potter book, I would highly recomend it. I would say the first two, maybe three books qualify as children's books, and are a quick and simple read, but really, it's a book about a 12 year old kid, how complicated do you want it to be at this point? It was under a lot of protest that I finally picked this book up, being under the impression that 12 year olds was the age group reading it at the same time, but this is far from the case. I don't think you have to have a simple mind to enjoy a simple book, and being an introductory book I feel this serves its purpose well, and it left me wanting more.

the books suck ass but i love the movies.

It sucks

BOOOOOOOOOO!! That book sucked!

not really an original story (British Schoolboy stories are pretty common) but i love the twist rowling uses in this series. The magical world is written well enough to make children believe that it could be possible. And haarry is a relatable character for most kids: he's small, powerless (in the beginning), not well off, bullied and alone. all children feel like that at some point, and they can relate with that character. This book is a great intro to the series and a great book in and of itself. It teaches kids the power of friendship and trust, and also about humility and hard work.

Very good and original story. I loved reading every minute of this and could really feel for the characters. I have read all 5 and love all of them.

Harry Potter is great and the first book of all really leaves you excited for what is going to happen in the next book. I wish that they would just go on forever. But the very first in the series and it is a great book. Thank you J.K. Rowling. Keep writing.

J.K Rowling is THE BEST i LOVE Harry Potter. It so totally ROX! They are by far the best books in the whole world. I LOVE Harry potter!

I thought that this book was really great and J.K. Rowling definetly has a wonderful story writing gift. This book swept me off my feet and brought a whole new world to me! It was absolutely fabulous! I also want people who read this to check out mine and my best friend's Harry Potter school at www.expage.com/muggershogwarts because its awesome and u can join and its just like your at Hogwarts so please try this and please join Ravenclaw!! For further info on my website e-mail me at [email protected]. Thanks!

I think so too! Harry potter is my favourite series of books. Ive read every one of them, and I love all the characters. The writing is superb. I hope she'll write some more novels after this series is over. I just found out that there is a wizard science course taught in university now that talks about things in the harry potter novels being accomplished by scientific intervention. I wouldn't mind taking that course.

i love ALL of the Harry Potter books.im not good at describing books or using words most people dont understand but these are GREAT books!!!!!

Wickid!

great for the kids or people with poor reading ability. Does anyone know that there are books written for adults? Predictable.

It's ok on it's own, but when looked at as part of the series, it pales in comparison to the other books.

I have tried to read the Potter books and find them incredibly boring. I must be the only one, because I know its popular. Oh well. I tried, I really tried to like it, but just couldn't get interested. I prefer the classic kid's books like Little Women and The Wind in The Willows.

I admit I have not read a Harry Potter book and have only seen the first movie. But I feel reading the books is not necessary to comment on the miracle of Potter. In my opinion Ms. Rowling is a genius. In this day and age it is dificult to get most s to read even so much as a brochure, let alone getting children to read a book. Her latest Harry Potter release is over 800 pages in length. Many an would shy away from a book that long. Most children won't read something without more pictures than there are pages of text. And yet Harry Potter is nothing short of miraculous. Ms.Rowling's latest book is setting record sales around the world. Thanks to her a new generation of children are reading like never before. I think this is wonderful. It is a sad pity that there are critics of Harry Potter, those who want the books taken off library shelves claiming they will lead children into black magic and occult. They seem to have forgotten the joys of make believe. I think we should praise Ms. Rowling and her works. It doesn't matter if some find the material cliched and simplistic or not. She deserves praise because of what Harry Potter represents: the rebirth of reading for children.

terribly simple, incredibly cliched, utterly black and white/good vs. evil and good always emerges predictably triumphant, no wonder you americans love it to bits!!!! ha ha, only joking. i dont want to be called a terrorist or a communist so i will stop insulting americans. amyway its good at least that it gets kids back into reading, i believe that the book is actually called HP and the PHILOSOPHER'S stone, but you just HAVE to be different in the US dont you? :-) also the writing is terribly uninspiring and in places is in very bad english, but i think we may aswell let JK off for that since no-one these days really knows what good writing is like....

As I ahve said before the origional book was called ... 'The Philosophers Stone' but it was changed for the Americans as they don't understand what Philosophers mean. anyway I did enjoy the book but I preferred the later Harry Potter tales.

It should be Philosophers stone!!! Liked the book anyway

The best in the series, by leaps and bounds. I did not much care for either of the last two books, but I thought this provided quite a fast and entertaining read. The characters are appealing, the writing style is clever, and the plot is (existing!) fast-paced. I was highly skeptical, however, about the concept of the books, and was reluctant to pick it up. However, i foundm myself quite enjoying it - particularly appreciated Hermione Granger and the Weasley twins. Only wish the books hadn't deteriorated from there.

A great introduction to the Harry Potter series. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Harry's family in the Muggle world is hilarious. I liked Hagrid, Ron, Hermione and other many characters. The transition to Hogwarts was great. Diagonal Alley, Platform 9 3/4 were very appropriate and Hogwarts Express. J.K. Rowling is brilliant! Overall, a very well crafted novel. Rush out and read it.

This book, like the rest of the Harry Potter series, sucked me in right away. The movie was also excellent! J.K. Rowling is fantastic!

Sorry but I didn't enjoy this book. Too boring

What can I say that hasn't already been said? I couldn't put this down, I couldn't put the next three down, and I can't wait for the next book to come out! My (then eight-year-old) daughter read the first four through immediately and has re-read them since a number of times. Anything that captivates both adults and children is a true classic.

What a truly wonderful first novel. I had been hearing about Harry Potter all over the t.v. and was frankly getting a little tired of it. Kids were waiting in line for hours just to get copies of the new book, and I figured this was another goofy fad to get kids' money. Then, all the talk about Satanism started because he was going to wizard school. Well, that gets me when people start throwing that kind of talk around. Some people don't like his popularity, so let's throw some Satanism into it and see what happens. There were already three books out when I spoke with some friends who had small children, and they told me that they had read/screened all the books and felt that the Satanism was unfounded, and that they felt the books were not only entertaining reading, but also extremely well written. I decided to give Harry a chance and went and purchased the paperback of Sorcerer's Stone. I was not even finished with it when I went out and bought the next two. I agreed with my friends--this is not only an entertaining book, but also extremely well written. It doesn't talk down to kids, and that's very important to me. You get more creative and smart from reading material above your level, not from stuff below it. I couldn't wait to go from page to page finding out all about Harry and his friends as they explored Hogwarts, the wizarding school. Of course, there is good versus evil, but how many other stories are that way? The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars are both movies featuring good versus evil, but did anyone ever accuse these movies of trying to convert their children to Satanism? Not Hardly. I would not hesitate one second to let my kids read any of the Harry Potter series.

This is an amazing book . . . you will not be able to put it down. The characters are written incredibly well. As always, try to read the book before you see the movie.

It was ok. I didn't like how long and drawn out parts of it were, but I did like the developing of the characters and the situations that they found themselves in.

J. K Rowling's Book are totally amazing! Once you've started reading them, you can't put it down! It's like you want to finish the whole book, know who the bad guys are in one sitting! I personally DON'T THINK that the Harry Potter books promotes WITCHCRAFT like what other schools and teachers say. Yeah, HP is sort suited to the young people age bracket and that there's portrayal of death, spells, wizardry, witches, blood, you name it! But arent' these things presently and apparantly present in the world we live in? Right now, today? I believe the BEST WAY to teach our children to grow up properly to love them and guide them. What more could a child ask for if he/she is happy with his/her family? Guideness is the key, love is the key not banning things. Being strict and stuff like that.

A really great book.Harry is a wizard who gets sent to Hogwarts. he meets a lot of friends and enemies and finds out about a secret at hogwarts. A little too long, but it is worth it. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes books about magic and fantasy.

This. Book. Is. Incredible. Funny, sad, exciting... it has everything a good book should have. And note I didn't say a good KIDS' book. I'm 17 (okay, I was 14 when I read this for the first time, but they still enthrall me), and I love it. I don't think there's been an author since Roald Dahl who can pull adults and children completely into a story. J.K. Rowling has set tiny facts in this story, such as when Sirius lent Hagrid his motorbike, which we don't really notice until they become important in later books. She's a very clever lady - all the Latin-based spells and mythology-based names goes to prove that. Although this isn't my favourite Harry Potter book (the best, in my opinion, is Prisoner Of Azkaban) I highly recommend it.

its a pretty good book, but not the best.

The start of the best written series I've ever read. Absolutely captivating. Great for any age.

*babbles* I loved it,I loved it,I loved it,I loved it! It was exceleent! My mom is happy I like Harry Potter because it's something good to get into...at least it's reading,right? So,that's why I say,HARRY POTTER RULES!!!!!

The most entertaining children's book since I read all the Roald Dahl books! I'm looking forward to read the second & third books in this serie too, witch I both have in Spanish! :-)

ok lahl2442om your wrong. this is a great book. it's imaginative and kids will actually read it even when they don't read that much.

This book is excellently written. It gives children a whole new world to experience. Rowling captured the character of Harry in the book very well, he was a nice 3D character with a lot of in-depth feelings. The other characters were also well defined. I liked this book and think it's good for kids because it lets them see that even if you're new to something, you should give it a try. Harry was new to Hogwarts, being a wizard and playing quiddith, but he overcame all that and turned out to be quite good, while still having lots of fun. It's a good message.

The Sorcerer's Stone is a great book, no two ways about it. You will like no matter how old you are. My mom loves them too. This is a great introductory book. The books get progressively more complex and imaginitive. I can't wait for the next few books. The book is about a boy who is introduced to the magical world which was taken from him when he was but a baby. Now he is attending a magic school, and loves it. But there are some problems surrounding the story he was told about his parents death. Well, you figure it out...

I don't really like the way that the Tri-wizard cup ended. I don't think it was right for Cedric to die. He never did anything to Voldemort. It made me mad! Otherwise, over all it was a REALLY good book and I can't wait for number 5!!!

Oh my. What a great read! A lot of fun. My ten year old son is devouring this series, and now LOVES to read. He recently said that all day long at school he's counting down until his 15 minute reading break, so he can find out what happens next. This, from a kid with 152 cable channels, who never has to wait for his favorite shows to come on, because they're on SOMEWHERE pretty much all the time. Makes my heart warm!!! I read the book, in one sitting each. Couldn't put them down. Can't wait for number four. Worth the money, worth the hype. Makes reading COOL again. Thanks, Ms. Rowling for an incredible series.

Excellent characters and fun story. Makes me wish I were a witch! A fun read for adults as well as kids.

Fabulous reading for ages 3-103!! Captivating!