Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone explains Harry's hidden past as the wizard son of James and Lily Potter, who were a wizard and witch respectively, and how they were murdered by the most evil and powerful dark wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort, which resulted in the one-year-old Harry being sent to live with his aunt and uncle. The strangest bit of the murder was how Voldemort was unable to kill him, but instead had his own powers removed and blasted away, sparking Harry's immense fame among the magical community. Hagrid introduces Harry to the wizarding world, bringing him to places such as Diagon Alley,
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter the characters, creatures and terms used in Rowling's book to classic literature and ancient history." "The Birmingham Post"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Jayne Howarth added that the book is "fun to dip in and out of while reading the Potter stories and it illustrates just how clever these pieces of literature are." "The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter" has been praised for teaching children about literature and history. Theresa Tighe of the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" commented that "grown-ups might like Colbert's book, too, because it painlessly exposes youngsters to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Ovid, Flaubert and more." In addition, Candice Nguyen of "The Oakland Tribune" said