Published June 26, 1997, as “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in Great Britain, and in September 1998 in the United States as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
This book begins J.K. Rowling’s magical tale of a boy who learns, on his 11th birthday, that he is a wizard. He is whisked away from his horrid aunt and uncle to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he becomes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who embark on a series of adventures with him. He discovers he has a great gift for flying on broomsticks. He learns an evil dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, murdered his parents when he was a year old, but somehow failed to murder Harry. Voldemort was disembodied but not destroyed when his Avada Kedavra curse was repelled. Harry was marked by a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Voldemort has been sharing the body of another wizard, whom Harry must meet in a battle that sorely tests him and his friends. Harry is saved at age 11 by the same thing that saved him when he was 1: the love of his mother, Lily. Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore is on hand to explain some things to Harry.
– John Orr, Special to the Mercury News
![By CHRISTINA LARSON (AP Science Writer) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Lyrid meteor shower is underway. But with a nearly full moon in the sky during the peak, it might be tough to see clearly. The Lyrids occur every year in mid-to-late April. This year’s peak activity happens Sunday into Monday, with 10 to 20 meteors […]](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Meteor_Shower_06085.jpg?w=525 "By CHRISTINA LARSON (AP Science Writer) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Lyrid meteor shower is underway. But with a nearly full moon in the sky during the peak, it might be tough to see clearly. The Lyrids occur every year in mid-to-late April. This year’s peak activity happens Sunday into Monday, with 10 to 20 meteors […]")
