Harry Potter

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator (1998)
   Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable 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.
        Movie (DVD, VHS)
        Related:  Literature Guide: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Grades 4-8)

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator (1999)
   The Dursleys were so mean that hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.
   
   And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.
   
   But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself?  (Ages 10 and up)
        Related:  Chamber of Secrets: A Magical 3-D Adventure (Age 9 - 12)

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator (2001)
   For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.
   
   Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts...he's at Hogwarts."
   
   Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst. Ages 10 and up)

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator (2002)
   Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year of magical adventures in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This year Harry turns 14 and becomes interested in girls -- one in particular. And with Dark Magic comes danger, as someone close to Harry dies. (Ages 10 and up)

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator (2003)
   There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?
   
   Here are just a few things on Harry's mind:

   • A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey.

   • A venomous, disgruntled house-elf

   • Ron as keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team

   • The looming terror of the end-of-term Ordinary Wizarding Level exams

   . . . and of course, the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In the richest installment yet of J. K. Rowling's seven-part story, Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.
   
   Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew, boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.
   
   Though thick runs the plot, listeners will race through these tapes and leave Hogwarts, like Harry, wishing only for the next train back.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator
   In the fifth and most recent book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the last chapter, titled "The Second War Begins," started:
   
   'In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more.
   
   "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive among us again," said Fudge.' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this point in the midst of the storm of this battle of good and evil."

   The author has already said that the Half-Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort. And most importantly, the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been brewing in J.K. Rowling's mind for 13 years.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  (July 21, 2007 release) with Mary GrandPré, Illustrator
   It's official! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's magical Harry Potter series, will be released on July 21, 2007. In the February 1 announcement from the book's publisher, Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic Children's Books, said, "We are thrilled to announce the publication date of the seventh installment in this remarkable series. We join J.K. Rowling's millions of readers--young and old, veterans and newcomers--in anticipating what lies ahead." Save the date, and let the countdown begin!

Potter-Related by Rowling

• The Tales of Beedle the Bard (December 4, 2008 release)
  There was understandable disappointment among Harry Potter fans when only one copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" was offered to the public last December. I am therefore delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon (who bought the handwritten copy at auction) - and with the blessing of the wonderful people who own the other six original books - "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" will now be widely available to all Harry Potter fans. Royalties will be donated to the Children's High Level Group, to benefit institutionalized children in desperate need of a voice. The new edition will include the Tales themselves, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, and with illustrations by me, but also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters' Archive.' 'Dumbledore's commentary on the Tales, which was discovered among his papers after his death, includes some historical notes, personal reminiscences, and insights into that most mysterious branch of magic: wandlore. I very much hope that readers coming to these classic wizarding fables for the first time will find his commentary both entertaining and helpful.