Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

by J.K. Rowling

Illustrator: Mary GrandPre

Publishing Company: Scholastic

Copyright Date: May 1st, 2004

435 pages

Genre: Fantasy

I chose this book because I have been a lifelong fan of Harry Potter. It's safe to say I'm mildly obsessed. Of the early books, this one is where the story begins to be a little more grown-up, which is why I like it. Harry has already survived attempted murder several times, and now the prisoner Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban, and is coming after him! Harry has to deal with all of that, plus mean teachers, bullies, and the many problems that come with being 13. There may even be a traitor in his circle of trusted friends...

This book's only illustration is the cover. However, the illustrator used pastels and soft geometrical shapes to create this beautiful artwork. It is very whimsical and appealing for a child. Just from the one picture you are intrigued by the story. You see Harry riding the hippogriff, which ends up being a large part of the story. You can also see the shadow of Sirius Black in the lower left hand corner. It has a lot of foreshadowing based off of this picture.

I think this is a wonderful book for children, teens, and adults. It is recommended for grades 3rd to 7th and is on a 5th grade reading level. I think it would magical to use this book as a daily read aloud in a higher grade classroom. 

 

You could study Harry Potter when learning about character traits, and do a poster project for different characters in the book. You could also do a novel study on this book and character profile analysis cards (which is a Common Core Standard).   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Harry-Potter-Character-Profile-Analysis-Cards-JK-Rowling-Common-Core-815501 

Awards:

Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers (1999), Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2000), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2000), Whitbread Award for Children's Book of the Year (1999), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (2008)

Smarties Prize (1999), Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Older Readers (2005), Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award (2004), Maine Student Book Award (2000), Golden Archer Award for Intermediate (2001), Indian Paintbrush Book Award (2004), Soaring Eagle Book Award (2002), Hotze de Roosprijs (2001)