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The first Harry Potter was an introduction to Harry Potter, his friends and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In the second book, Harry, who is spending his summer vacation with the Dursleys again, feels that his best friends, Ron and Hermonie have forgotten him, as they have not replied to any of his letters. Suddenly and mysteriously, house-elf named Dobby appears in Harry’s bedroom and warns him not to return to Hogwarts as he is in terrible danger.

Despite Dobby’s efforts to thwart Harry’s return, Weasley brothers rescue Harry from Dursleys clutches and take him to their house. At Hogwarts, Harry has become the center of much unwanted attention and has to deal with many new people and most irritatingly the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, who craves attention.

As many dreadful things like chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, students being mysteriously petrified, begin to happen at Hogwarts, Harry learns about the Chamber of Secrets, and warning on the wall proclaims “The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened”. Harry, Hermonie, and Ron do everything possible including risking their own lives to solve this mystery.

Chamber of Secrets is highly entertaining, every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first and would be greatly enjoyed by readers of almost any age.

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The Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s stone is the first in J.K. Rowling’s hugely successful Harry Potter series. It is a story of young boy with a great destiny, rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, who proves his worth, while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A year old Harry is deposited in a basket on the doorstep of Dursleys after Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard, kills his magical parents. Harry is ill treated, disregarded by his aunt and uncle and often harassed by his cousin Dudley. He is made to sleep in the closet under the stairs and has never ever celebrated his birthday or received Christmas presents. Harry, unsure of his special lineage, receives a mysterious letter delivered by the giant Hagrid informing him of his acceptance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Though he is treated like dirt at his aunt’s home, he is a legend in the witch world for having survived an attack by the evil sorcerer Voldemort, who killed his parents and left Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. With host of mysterious powers, a magic wand and snowy owl, Harry goes off to boarding school that teaches Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions.

An enchanted ceiling, staircases that change about on you, portraits that move and talk to you, a talking hat, a teacher who turns herself into a cat, magical game called Quidditch played in mid air on brooms, and a three headed dog are just a few of the things that await Harry during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry with the help of his new friends Ronald Weasley and Hermonie Granger unravel the secrets involving a sorcerer’s stone on the forbidden third floor at Hogwarts to battle the evil that ultimately takes him to the evil Lord Voldemort.

The book is engaging with its imagery, humor, and plot twists. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a prologue to bigger things to come.

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At dinner table one evening, my husband came up with the idea of growing a family garden… Well, my kids and I were shell-shocked, as he does not have a green thumb, while my kids and I occasionally indulge in gardening and tending to our plants in our back yard.

He said that it was just an excuse for the whole family to do something to gather outside. Seeing his enthusiasm, we decided to go ahead. We chose a medium sized patch for cultivating our “family garden”. In a family garden, you could be grow vegetables, flowers, arrange or decorate potted plants, water, trim, or even mow the lawn. We chose to grow flowers.

Some points to remember while growing a family garden -

Select the type of garden that everyone in the family would like to grow, flowers, fruits or vegetables. What to plant also depends on the season, type of soil, amount of sunlight, etc? If in doubt, ask the staff at your local garden store for planting advice.

Make it a point to have a plant for each member of the family. If your kid’s plant is not growing well, find out the reason and make necessary changes so that the plant can grow. If possible, you can also replace the dying plant with a new one.

Gardening tasks should be delegated according to age. Kids can water the plants with hose or water can; teenagers can trim the hedges or help in digging the soil. If your small kid wants to help in digging the soil, bring out plastic gardening kit that a spade shovel, water can, bucket, etc.

Dress up while working on growing a garden. Dads / Mom can don gardener’s overalls, wear a sun hat, etc. Kids can wear rain boots, plastic construction hats, etc. Dressing up is fun.

To make your garden look more beautiful, decorate it with painted stones or create designs with broken flowerpot pieces. Paint wooden roods or make a boundary with bricks of different shapes, size and patterns.

Growing a family garden means spending time together. Make it a point to tend to it every day or two. Lastly do not make gardening a chore for kids. Let them enjoy what they do best.

It’s been two months since we started growing our family garden. We can see our plants growing daily and the excitement is unmatched.

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