Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

We’ve been enjoying a Harry Potter marathon over the last few weeks with CareBear.  GadgetMan and I had decided long ago that our kidlets would need to read the books before watching the movies…on many of the made from books movies that seem to be so popular.  CareBear read through the Harry Potter books like a whirlwind…and we’ve had a blast watching the movies with her.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in my opinion, is a fun, easy read for young (and not so young) readers.  I knew all the critical arguments about this book…and the wide range of opinions…so I went into it with no expectations.  Maybe that’s why I ended up liking it so much.  I didn’t need this book to fulfill anything for me so therefore it could just be fun.  To this day I can still pick it up and let myself  have fun without any brain strain.  And trust me, with 6 kidlets, anything that reduces brain strain is a wonderful thing.  This book also makes it fun for a couple of my kidlets who struggle with reading in general.  Sometimes, even a silly, light read is a good read…especially if it helps eliminate some of those reading tears.

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The movie wasn’t quite what I expected when I saw it the first time.  Probably because at that point I had formed a bit of an opinion about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  Knowing that it’s nearly impossible to make a movie follow a book exactly…books are different then screenplays…and most movie budgets don’t allow it…knowing all of that does help bring it all back into perspective.  The key, I think, is trying to see the movie without critical comparison.  How does the movie stand on it’s own?  For the most part, I enjoyed this movie…and have watched it numerous times since…especially with my kidlets who go through Potter fan phases.