Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

[sablewong]

I was bored and playing around on the internet recently and I began to wonder how the Americans version of Harry Potter would differ from the British sold version. I mean would there be a difference at all? Does anyone know? I'm rather curious to see if there are any differences at all.  

[gina787]

From what I've gathered the difference is really just the language itself. The story is exactly the same but I found the British terms interesting (I have the American version) For example, here are the ones I found most interesting:

British/American
1. Cooker/Stove
2. Shan't/Won't
3. Roundabout/Carousel
4. Holiday/Vacation
5. Letter-box/Mail Slot
6. Rucksack/Backpack
7. Trainers/Sneakers
8. Philosopher's/Sorcerer's

Also, the American version offers more descriptions and in some cases more information. For example:

The British version reads: "And now there were only three people left to be sorted. 'Turpin, Lisa,' became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn."

The American version reads: "And now there were only three people left to be sorted. 'Thomas, Dean,' a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. 'Turpin, Lisa,' became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn.

Aside from the obvious spelling and punctuation differences, the American version has small illustrations at the beginning of each chapter directly above the title.

That's all I know of. Hope that was helpful. mrgreen  

[Lelandra]

sine the differences were brought up I'm curious about book 4's ending. My American first edition has James coming out of the wand first and then his mother. Which in later publications was changed around so that the reverse death orded didn't make fans go "WAIT, James died last!" and yet it makes reading it strange since Harry clearly was never thinking about his mother throughout the book.
Is that what happened with the British versions?  

[Alli-o-pop]

Another difference is that in the British version the Weasleys call Mrs. Weasley "mum." And in the American version they call her "mom." This caused extreme annoyance to JKR because "Mrs. Weasley is not a 'mom.' She's a 'mum.'" In the later American books Mrs. Weasley is called Mum because JKR put up such a fuss.  

[miss_purikura]

Really? That's funny^^
But you might like a look at this:
http://www.hplex.info/about/books/ps/differences-ps.html
It's actually really interesting, isn't it? And somehow funny