What was the U.S. title of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book?

The U.S. title of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The novel was published in the United Kingdom in 1997 as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. When Scholastic acquired the American publishing rights, the word “philosopher” was changed to “sorcerer” for the U.S. edition. The alteration was intended to make the title sound more immediately magical and accessible to American children.

The story, characters, plot, and chapter structure remained essentially the same. The title difference became one of the best-known examples of regional variation in a major children’s book series. Later translations used many other localized titles as well.

The book introduces Harry’s arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his friendship with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the mystery surrounding the Philosopher’s Stone. The American film released in 2001 also used the Sorcerer’s Stone title.