Annotation from CCBC Choices 2000: In his second year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, 12-year-old Harry Potter continues to learn about his destiny as the greatest wizard of his generation. New challenges and adventure seem to lie in wait for him at every turn of the twisting staircases and corridors of Hogwarts. What is the meaning of the mysterious whispered messages only Harry can hear: ". . . so hungry . . . for so long . . . kill . . . time to kill . . ." Who is attacking the selected students and, one by one, turning them into petrified human pillars? Do all the answers lie in the rumored Chamber of Secrets, if such a place even exists? With his mates, Ron and Hermione, Harry sets out to find solve these mysteries, using intellect, rudimentary magic, and a little bit of luck. Readers of the first volume of this extremely popular series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Levine/Scholastic, 1998), will recognize the setting and many of the characters. In addition, they will be pleased to meet some new cast members, including Dobby, a self-deprecating, gossipy house elf and Gilderoy Lockhart, a self-important best-selling author who's come to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Ingenious plotting, dazzling humor, and an overall inventive vision are fast becoming the hallmark of J.K. Rowling's highly appealing novels. (Age 8 and older)

 Annotation from CCBC Choices 2000: J. K. Rowling just seems to get better and better with each new entry in the Harry Potter series and this volume, without a doubt, is the most compelling book yet. From the outset we learn that Sirius Black, a notorious criminal that even the Muggles know, has escaped from Azkaban prison. Worse yet, he is after Harry Potter who has just returned to Hogwarts School for a third term. Sinister Azkaban prison guards called Dementors have been placed all around the entrances to Hogwarts, ostensibly to keep Sirius Black away from the school. But to Harry the Dementors seem to pose as much as a threat as the escaped prisoner -- he faints from fright every time he sees one. So concerned is he about the effect they have on him that he seeks out the assistance of Professor Lupin, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, who helps Harry face his fears. We have just as much humor, excellent characterization and intricate plotting in this novel as in the previous two but here Rowling introduces for the first time a layer of psychological depth, as Harry, now age 13, begins to come to terms with the death of his parents. As a result, the novel has a more somber and slightly more mature tone than its predecessors. Still, the rousing story will keep Potter fans turning the pages and the mind-blowing twist at the end of the book is likely to inspire repeated readings, of this volume if not the entire series. And, of course, everyone who reads it will now be anxiously awaiting Book Four. Children's Book Center (Age 9 and older)

 Annotation from CCBC Choices 2001: Harry Potter returns for his fourth year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but not before attending the World Quidditch Cup with his best friends Ron and Hermione and Ron's family. Spirits are high as wizards and witches from around the world gather in Britain to attend the match. But events at the international sporting spectacle foreshadow possible bad times ahead when the Dark Mark, the sign of evil Lord Voldemort, is seen in the sky overhead after the championship. It is the first time the sign has appeared since Voldemort disappeared after killing Harry's parents years before. J.K. Rowling's fourth Harry Potter novel, which the author describes as "pivotal" in the planned cycle of seven books, continues what has become her trademark blend of highly imaginative plotting, wonderfully realized characters, spirited humor and compelling dramatic action. The now comfortingly familiar routine of life at Hogwart's School is never without surprises for Harry, who is now 14, or for readers. But Rowling adds a fresh twist to Harry's fourth year with the introduction of an international wizarding competition that brings students from schools of witchcraft and wizardry in two other nations to Hogwarts for the year. When Harry is called upon to be a contestant in the competition, no one is more surprised than he, and it seems certain that his name was put forth by someone wishing him harm. The first boy-girl dance for Harry and his friends also complicates life, as adolescent desires and uncertainties make for funny, poignant interactions among students. By now readers know Rowling's main charactersand many of the minor onesquite well, and the result is a plot-driven adventure that builds swiftly to another grippingand chilling-- climax. The lines are drawn more clearly and powerfully than ever before in the ongoing struggle of goodas seem through the actions of Harry, headmaster Albus Dumbledore and others at Hogwarts--versus evil, as represented by the heartless, inhuman deeds of the dark wizard Voldemort and his followers. But intriguing and complex questions remain, about the intentions and motivations of individual characters, and about the fate of all in Rowling's superbly realized world. And in the midst of all the action, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire offers more mature readers who are eager to dissect the intricacies of the plot and ponder what is yet to come the opportunity to also think about issues of economic and social justice as they play out in that magical worldand resonate in our own. (Age 9 and older)

 Review by the Cooperative Children's Book Center:: As with the four previous Harry Potter titles, J.K. Rowling takes readers on satisfying, stimulating excursion into her richly imagined world in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. But much has changed in Book V. The cover of the U.S. edition reveals quite a bit about that change since the start of the previous volume. There is no smiling boy pictured, and no rich palette of contrasting colors. Instead, an older, more serious Harry gazes over his shoulder, the scene cast in somber blue tones. And from the opening chapter on, it's clear that things are different, and that Harry is different, too. The usual over-the-top, comi-tragic scenes of Harry's life at the Dursley's are toned down, replaced by more ominous tidings. Harry's usual transition, from frustration in being stuck at the Dursley's to delight when he is reunited with his Hogwarts friends, is far less pronounced. It's complicated by his self-righteous anger over a summer of isolation from the wizarding world at a time when Lord Voldemort has risen and so much is at stake. That anger possesses Harry on and off throughout the novel. It is one of the ways J.K. Rowling is addressing the transition of her main character from courageous, open-hearted boy to a young man weighed down by all he has seen. Harry is also struggling, like many adolescents, to adjust to changes that he doesn't always understand in his relationships with friends and mentors. The truth is that teenagers aren't always easy to be around, and Harry embodies that truth, his overwrought emotions seemingly justified one minute, self-centered the next. But while Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is certainly less lighthearted than the overall tone of its predecessors, it's not a dark and ominous story. Hope--and Rowling's humor--still shine. The author is adept at sly wit, broad humor, and satire. Older readers may especially appreciate her sharp, sometimes chilling commentaries on government. Her inventive imagination has created surprising new material in a world that already seemed complete. (Remember those horseless carriages at Hogwarts?) She also expands the cast and range of characters. While some familiar faces, like Dumbledore and Hagrid, aren't seen as often as we've come to expect, others, like Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, are shown in a new or brighter light. Newcomers like the Ravenclaw student Luna Lovegood and the Auror Tonks enliven the mix that, as always, includes Harry's best friends, Ron and Hermione, each with a few surprises of their own. Rowling also continues to develop the intricacies of the ongoing plot of good versus evil, answering some of the looming questions from the past while raising others about what is to come. The overall fast-paced novel lags more than its predecessors at the start but picks up quickly, building to a riveting climactic battle followed by a prophecy revealed. The sense of urgency that marked the close of Book IV is absent here. But Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix still leaves us wondering what now awaits the world of magic so many have come to know and love. What new surprises, challenges, and changes, will Books VI and VII hold? (Age 9 and older)