Poor Harry Potter. After his parents are killed, the lonely 10-year-old is living under the stairs in the detestable Dursley household. A mysterious letter arrives, inviting him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly, some things start to make sense- why he is loathed by his relatives, all Muggles (non-magic people), why he has a lighting bolt scar on his forehead, and how his future might be better than his past. Harry is a celebrity at Hogwarts, the only person to escape the clutches of the evil Dark Lord--He-who-must-not-be-named, who killed his parents and left him the scar. In this book, Harry meets characters that stay throughout the series, stalwart friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, enemy Draco Malfoy, Professor Severus Snape, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Hagrid, the giant who loves animals.

— Kathleen Hennrikus, Globe Staff