#53 in Young adult
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 303
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
- Film 2001
- On screen
- Nestlé Children's Book Prize
- The British Book Awards
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Our view
The first Harry Potter book earns its place through world-building: Hogwarts is drawn with enough care that the school itself becomes the main attraction. It is written for young readers, and the mystery at its centre is a gentle one, so adults should expect charm more than suspense. Some who return to it as grown-ups find the writing better than they remembered.
Worth knowing The book that started it all: Bloomsbury published it in June 1997 with a first hardback run of 500 copies, and in the US it came out in 1998 as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It is the shortest of the seven; the series grows up with its readers, and by Order of the Phoenix the books are more than twice as long. The 2001 film follows it closely.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the Harry Potter series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the help of his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry unravels a mystery involving the dark wizard Lord Voldemort.
Reading order · Harry Potter
Full order & progress →- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneThis book
8.68.6 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
8.48.4 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8.88.8 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
8.88.8 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
8.68.6 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8.88.8 / 10 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
8.88.8 / 10 - Harry Potter prequelHarry Potter prequel–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmHarry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 11,902 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 99% of the weight and the score stays at 8.6 — the Young adult average of 7.8 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 1K | 9% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 5 | 0% |
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 10.9K | 91% |
Frequently asked
What age is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sits on the Middle grade shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 8–12. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 303 pages — shorter than 94% of the ranked books in Young adult.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Young adult — with scores between 7.9 and 8.8, closest to this book.
