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#12 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (1999)
101 points

After all these years, this one is still my favorite: it’s the last true Middle Grade novel of the bunch, and it’s got everything: adventure, scary sequences, a daring escape, and time travel. And I can’t beat that my kids still adore Harry and his world. – Melissa Fox

Love this series, like everyone else. I chose #3 because when I read it, I knew enough about Harry’s world to get right into and feel at home, which is part of what I think the overall appeal is…that you could almost see yourself going to Hogwarts. I also love the Ron and Hermione interaction in this book, and Hermione’s developments (time turner classes, taking on Malfoy) in particular. – Libby Gorman

The best balance of funny and charming to dark and exciting. – Emily Myhr

Now this IS an interesting development.  Remember that I asked folks to only list the first book in a series unless they felt that a sequel deserved to stand on its own.  Not only has #3 in the Harry Potter series cracked the Top 20 but it came THIS CLOSE to cracking the top ten too!  Previously appearing at #18, Rowling’s most beloved sequel has its following.  Oh yes indeed it does.  And to be perfectly honest, it’s my favorite Harry too.  It was the first HP I ordered from Britain because, at that time, you could get the English edition faster than the American.  I also preferred the English covers (though that love affair was soon to grow sour).

The plot description from Amazon reads, “For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who’s forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard ‘accidentally’ causes the Dursleys’ dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig. As it turns out, Harry isn’t punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black–an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban–is on the loose. Not only that, but he’s after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry’s very heart when others are unaffected?”

While reviewing this book for the New York Times, author Gregory Maguire considered the ramifications of Harry’s world in the article Lord of the Golden Snitch.  Said he, “C. S. Lewis made a literary distinction between fantasy as magical happenings and fantasy as wish fulfillment. ‘Lay the fairy tale side by side with the school story. … We long to go through the looking glass, to reach fairyland. We also long to be the immensely popular and successful schoolboy or schoolgirl.’ Lewis concludes that stories that satisfy the desire for magic are healthy for the imagination and the spirit, while stories that pander to the desire to be Head Boy or sports star are dangerous “

According to BBC News, a group of more than 60 scholars have congregated at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland to discuss the literary merits of the Harry Potter series over the next two days.

The conference, entitled "A Brand of Fictional Magic: Reading Harry Potter as Literature," will feature over 50 lectures about the series with topics ranging from the role of paganism, British national identity and how death is dealt with in the books. A complete anthology based on this conference is expected to be published in 2013.

Conference organizer, Professor John Patrick Pazdziora, had this to say about putting together such a conference:

"We can't avoid the fact that Harry Potter is the main narrative experience of an entire generation - the children who literally grew up with Harry Potter.

"The Harry Potter novels are simply the most important and influential children's books of the late-20th and early 21st Centuries."

"For very many people, this is their first experience of literature, and of literary art. So they want to think about it, and analyse it, and talk about it."

J.K. Rowling will receive the Freedom of the City of London on Tuesday, May 8 for her services to children's literature, according to a press release from the City of London.

The ceremony will take place at the Mansion House, the official residence of London's Lord Mayor. She will read aloud the Declaration of a Freeman and be presented with a framed parchment certificate.

In a statement, Ms. Rowling spoke of what the award means to her and some special perks:

“Both my parents were Londoners.  They met on a train departing from King’s Cross Station in 1964, and while neither of them ever lived in London again, both their daughters headed straight for the capital the moment that they were independent.  To me, London is packed with personal memories, but it has never lost the aura of excitement and mystery that it had during trips to see family as a child.

“I am prouder than I can say to be given the Freedom of the City, which, on top of all the known benefits (and few people realize this), entitles me to a free pint in The Leaky Cauldron and a ten Galleon voucher to spend in Diagon Alley.”

The Freedom of the City of London can be traced back to 1237. Today, people are presented with the award because it offers them a link with the historic City of London and one of its ancient traditions.

The official Pottermore shop was launched this morning, marking the first time that the Harry Potter books are available to buy in an eBook and digital audio book format.

This will be the only place to purchase digital copies of the Harry Potter series, which will be available in all formats for eReaders, tablets, smartphones and mp3 players.

The eBooks for Years 1-3 are available for $7.99, while Years 4-7 are priced at $9.99. Or, the complete series can be purchased for $57.54.

Digital audio books for Years 1-3 will cost $29.99, and Years 4-7 is priced at $44.99. The complete Harry Potter audio collection can be purchased for $ 242.94.

Even though the Pottermore shop is now open, Pottermore remains in beta. It's expected to open to everyone in April.

A sketch of Harry Potter with the mythical hippogriff Buckbeak drawn by former Harry Potter illustrator Cliff Wright will be up for auction at the end of the month, the Daily Mail reports.

Mr. Wright was the illustrator of the UK Harry Potter book covers for Sorcerer's Stone through Prisoner of Azkaban. The sketch was made in 2002, and is estimated to sell for £10,000 at the Antiques for Everyone Fair in Birmingham from October 27 - 30.

See a preview of this rare drawing at this link!

As the year draws to an end, Scholastic, US publishers of the Harry Potter novels, have a reminder for us today of the remarkable decade that was, and the amazing impact of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The sales figures are staggering, but as publisher Arthur A. Levine and VP of Scholastic reminds us, the true magic has been in the reading:

"What the numbers leave out is the singular

Next month, there will be a very large auction for a number of rare and valuable collection of children's literature including several Harry Potter novels by author J.K. Rowling. With the auction to take place on December 16th, items of note will include a rare uncorrected proof of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, uncorrected proof copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, plus ... Read the rest of this post

Gallimard, publishers of the French editions of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling will be releasing two new versions of the books on June 25. Readers in France will now be able to purchase Deluxe editions of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with the new cover art seen here via the publishers site. Later in November of this year, Gallimard w... Read the rest of this post

Two sketches drawn by artist Cliff Wright for the cover of the UK edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are set to be auctioned later this month. The Scotsman reports that the pen and pencil sketches used to create the front and back cover artwork for the third Harry Potter novel will be on display then up for auction at the Glasgow Art Fair. The cover, which you can see here via ... Read the rest of this post

Scholastic, the US publishers of the Harry Potter novels, will be releasing a new box set of the series this summer. This new collection, which you can see here in our galleries, is available for pre-order via Barnes and Noble, as well as Walmart.  Included in the collection are the set of US paperback editions of books one through seven, with the box to feature the Deluxe cover from Harry Pott... Read the rest of this post

The doors of our very own Lily and Stag Inn are now open once again for sorting into our latest Reading Group discussions.  The third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," has been chosen to be read in our small, family-like reading groups.  Our Lily and Stag Inn features a unique atmosphere for reading the Harry Potter novels, with focus dissecting the book chapter by chapter and l... Read the rest of this post

Hello, everyone, it's Carl once again. We have a new review from our old friend Lord Vader (otherwise known as Mikie). In fact, he sent us two reviews this time! I don't know if he wrote to defend the blog from the sneaky and underhanded hostile takeover attempt from the girls at Ms. Smith's fourth-grade class at Metrolina Regional Scholar's Academy, but, since he is a guy, I will add it to those who have so nobly aided our cause. Let's hear what Lord Vader has to say:



I just finished "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J. K. Rowling. It had been a while since I had seen the movie so I forgot a lot about the story. Every time the Dementors would start making Harry hear his mom I didn't want to read anymore. But I finally finished it and I'm glad I did. I really liked how Harry and Hermione got a "do over" with Serious and Buckbeak. I wish you could do that in real life. I also liked Hogsmeade. My mom told me there is a town with little shops kind of like in the book up by where I was born. It's called Salem, Massachusetts. I would recommend this book to others, but since it is a little more darker than the beginning ones I would tell readers to make sure they read it in the daytime. Especially about the kiss the dementors give. The book is really descriptive.

I also read "Michael Phelps" by Jeffrey Zuehlke. It's about Michael's awesome career and how he got started in it. I think he is great and loved reading about him. I can't wait to read his other one that talks about his training and diet.

Mikie (a.k.a. Lord Vader)



Another good one, Lord Vader! Or, I should say, another good two!! No girl would dare take over our blog with Lord Vader on our team. In fact, here's a warning to anyone would mess with the great Sith lord:



There you go! You have been warned!