When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he's the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord's curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry stumbles upon a sinister mystery when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers, which could be valuable, dangerous - or both. An incredible adventure is about to begin! (Source)

At first I didn't know whether I should buy the illustrated edition of the Harry Potter series, since I already own it both in German and in English. But in the end I decided to buy it, too, beacause I was so curious about the illustrations. I'm glad I did because it's really an amazing and brilliant work!

I love the story anyway and read it since 1998 over and over because of many reasons that I'd like to explain. First of all, I love the character 'Harry Potter' who is very sweet, smart, honest and sincere and I love his strength and courage to deal with some teachers, some trials and of course his destiny. Second, I'm so glad that he meets the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, who I also find very lovely, likable and funny. Thirdly, it's always something special to 'accompany' him while he's going on a new adventure and meeting new creatures/ people/ places. I just love this world with every detail!

The illustrations are very beautifully made and so convenient concerning the contents. Of course I as a reader already had a special imagination for a couple of things, but yet in some scenes they were helping me having a better idea of some things. So the result of this edition for me (and I guess a lot more readers) is having a better imagination of the particuliar scenes, which I find very suitable especially for the young readers, who might not imagine everything properly yet.

In my opinion it deserves the best rating not only for the unique story but also for the very beautiful and detailed illustrations which make this one-of-a-kind story something more special.

Fazit (deutsch)

Die illustrierte Ausgabe von Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone von J. K. Rowling ist meiner Meinung nach ein sehr gelungenes Werk, das den Inhalt mit unglaublich schönen Illustrationen veranschaulicht. Ich finde es besonders für junge Leser sehr geeignet, so dass man es zum Vorlesen wunderbar nutzen kann. Die Geschichte ist bereits eines meiner Lieblinge, welches durch die veranschaulichte Version noch aufgewertet wird. Ganz klar ist es (weiterhin) ein Lieblingsbookie und gehört damit in die Kategorie Tauchliebe.