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29 March 2015
Title
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter 3) |
Author
| JK Rowling |
Publisher
| Bloomsbury Children |
Publication Date
|
1999
|
Pages
| 317 |
Genre
| Fantasy, children |
Synopsis
Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays (who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?). But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school.
My Review
It's the 3rd year at Hogwarts, and Harry and his friends are now 13 years old. This book follows in the successful formula of the previous 2 books, and the structure is exactly the same, with Harry spending the summer holidays at the Dursley's and he can't help to use magic which he shouldn't really do in the Muggle world. But of course, Harry makes it to Hogwarts and meets Hermoine and Ron in the Hogwarts express where the adventures start.
I think the fact that the books follow exactly the same layout with a different storyline makes it so successful for children. It's not hard to follow and the characters - while somewhat stereotypical - also hold surprises and interesting twists. Rowling cleverly re-caps whats happened before in the text which ensures you are never really lost. For me l the real value of the HP books is the fact that it gets children reading who may not have picked up a book otherwise. Of course, RJ Rowling has a wonderful imagination, and one which can be easily understood by children and build a fantasy world.
I have to say that I usually neither read children's nor fantasy books, but thoroughly enjoy the HP books as a change from my usual reading. I would also recommend the HP books if you are an aspiring writer (not necessarily of children's fiction only) and would like some ideas on how to build up a story, re-cap on a previous storyline and how the English language can be 'bent' for your story.
About the author
J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, translated into 74 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. She has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's schoolbooks within the novels. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through The Ages were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. In December 2008, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children's High Level Group, and quickly became the fastest selling book of the year
