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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first volume in an ongoing series for children written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series stars Harry Potter, an eleven-year-old wizard who has just escaped the clutches of his unloving Muggle family, and started attending Hogwarts School for Wizards. He's aided in his adventures by his friends Hermione Granger (the class overachiever) and Ron Weasley (the youngest son of a large down-to-earth wizarding family). Together they learn wizardry and work to defeat the evil sorcerer Voldemort.

The book was so popular that the movie rights were sold, and the first picture was released during 2001. It is planned that the rest of the series will also be filmed, using the same main cast for continuity purposes.

The film made in excess of $950 million at the worldwide box office (second only to Titanic) and received several Oscar nominations.

Both the motion picture and book were released in the United States under the name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as the producers were concerned that most Americans were not familiar enough with the term "philosopher's stone" to gain the correct impression from the title. (The renaming of books for international distribution is a common practice, even for highly known and internationally recognised authors.)

Whatever the reasons for the change, it had no effect on the sales figures, and the Harry Potter series rapidly became one of the most-in-demand among young readers, who seemed to be undaunted by the ever-increasing length and complexity of the volumes.

Harry Potter terms and Characters

Sequels