Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by J. K. Rowling
published: 1998 Scholastic, Arthur A. Levine books, USA
illustrations by Mary GrandPre, 1998
- This is the United States version of the first book, published in the U.K. as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
- The title was changed because Scholastic thought that a child wouldn't buy a book with the word "philosopher" in the title
- Scholastic bought the rights to publish the book in the United States in 1997 for about $100,000 (source: New York Times, 12-31-01)
- Scholastic has sold more than 55 million copies of the first four books (source: New York Times, 12-31-01)