Summary from GoodReads:

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley—a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry—and anyone who reads about him—will find unforgettable. For it’s there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.

Book & Movie Review:

To paraphrase Jackson Pearce, you’d have to be living under a sorcerer’s stone if you were not aware that the last Harry Potter movie is due out this summer.  Very soon in fact!  So with that in mind, I decided to make my way through the books and the movies to prepare myself for this final big event – the last movie and our farewell to Harry and his friends.

When these books first came out I had no interest in them. None.  My siblings were all in an uproar (my sister was also 11, so she’s grown up with Harry) but I dismissed the books as fanciful nothings, young adult fiction, psh when would I ever want to read that?  I mean, at that time I was caught up in the fantastic world of romance novels. (Yes, that was sarcastic and true at the same time!)

But then, around the release of the fourth book, I decided to pick up the series and see what all the fuss was about.  Since that first reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I’ve read the book four times (one of those times out loud to my niece and nephew), and every time the book just gets better and better, and I think a large part of that is due to the movies.

Now, I’ll first say that yes, a lot of the original books didn’t make it into the movies, specifically for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I missed Peeves, the potions Hermione has to get through to help Harry stop Quirrell, the introduction of Malfoy in the train (and not on the steps) and little details here and there (such as explaining to Harry where the pictures came from in the book Hagrid gives him at the end).  But overall, I think the movie did a fantastic job of bringing to life the wonder, excitement and awe I felt while reading the book.  I loved the portrayal of Quidditch and the main dining hall at Hogwarts, and I still catch my breath at that first sweeping view of the school.

In my opinion, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the weakest of the books, in terms of development – but it also captures the innocence of Harry, Hermione and Ron, and grabs the reader by the hand and gently introduces them into the world of Hogwarts, allowing time for us to catch our breath and relax into it all.  That’s the best way to introduce children to the world of fantasy and Rowling did a marvelous job.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, in closing at least, how much I’ve also come to appreciate Dudley, and the Dursley’s.  They add comedy to the stories, but also that necessary anchor to the “muggle” world – the other side of what might have been had Harry’s mother not been magical.

Feel free to join me in the next several days as I read, watch and review these books and movies.  You do not need to read or watch every one, or do both, or.. well, do whatever you wish and chime in with your thoughts, your hopes for the upcoming movies and how you plan to fill the void after the last movie has been watched.