description: For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.  As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
language: English
title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
titlecomplete: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
characters: Draco Malfoy, Marjorie Dursley, Dean Thomas, Pansy Parkinson, Rolanda Hooch, Katie Bell, Fred Weasley, Sybil Trelawney, Vernon Dursley, Ernie Prang, Cho Chang, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Remus Lupin, Ginny Weasley, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Cedric Diggory, George Weasley, Dudley Dursley, Cornelius Fudge, Seamus Finnigan, Percy Weasley, Peter Pettigrew, Molly Weasley, Sirius Black, Pomona Sprout, Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter, Rubeus Hagrid, Stan Shunpike, Colin Creevey, Filius Flitwick, Oliver Wood, Petunia Dursley, Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey
genres: Middle Grade, Audiobook, Young Adult, Childrens, Adventure, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches
ratings_count: 3946160
places: United Kingdom, Scotland, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
series: Harry Potter
awards: awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Bram Stoker Award
category: Best Work for Young Readers, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Hugo Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Locus Award
category: Best Fantasy Novel, awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Whitbread Award
category: Children's Book of the Year, awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
category: Children's Literature, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards
category: Older Readers, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Maine Student Book Award, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Golden Archer Award
category: Intermediate, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Indian Paintbrush Book Award, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Soaring Eagle Book Award, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Hotze de Roosprijs, awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
category: 9–11 years
publisher: Cover To Cover