Best Harry Potter Covers
By now you may know that I'm obsessed with book cover art and Harry Potter. Surprisingly, though, I haven't focused much on Harry Potter in this blog; mostly because I figure everyone's heard of it already so you don't need me to repeat what you've already heard, secondly because I would need an entire blog (actually, more like ten blogs) to say everything I want about Harry Potter, and thirdly because J.K. Rowling is unfortunately not a great person.
Anyway, I have spent many an hour looking up different Harry Potter covers. My copies are of the first American covers, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, so I'm eternally loyal to those. However, there are a lot of gorgeous (and hideous, but all multi-edition books have some hideous covers) Harry Potter covers out there. So I shall now stop ranting and start showcasing these great pieces of artwork!
Indonesian edition
Illustrated by Nicholas Filbert Chandrawienata
I love these for several reasons. The way a prominent magical creature is highlighted on each book is really cool, and I like the focus on the characters because they really do make up the heart and soul of these books. Normally I would complain about the covers not being colorful enough, but the art style is so beautiful that I can't.
EBook edition
Illustrated by Olly Moss
I'm also kind of biased about these because I'm well acquainted with the Harry Potter audiobooks (narrated by Jim Dale)--okay, yes, I'm listening to one now--so I had to put them on. But they really are quite cool: each picture has more to it than meets the eye if you look carefully, and I like how each one has a color theme, similar to Mary GrandPré's editions.
First American edition
Illustrated by Mary GrandPré
Of course, these are my favorites because they're the ones I first read and the ones that I own. I still imagine all of the characters as Mary GrandPré drew them, and the little illustrations before each chapter are awesome. GrandPré's style grows more and more detailed as the books progressed, and Harry grows up with each book.
Bloomsbury 2014 editions
Illustrated by Jonny Duddle
I like the choice of scene for each cover, the art style, and the action. The only complaint I would have is that Harry doesn't really seem to age throughout the covers, but other than that I think these are really nice.
German 20th anniversary edition
Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
I like the old-fashioned gold embossed style of these, and the sort of formality or neatness of it. I also really like the fonts (I'm a sucker for good fonts), because they give a fresh appearance to the books instead of using the classic logo (which I love, but I think this looks better on this particular edition). I'm not a huge fan of how the actual characters are drawn, but other than that I think the design on this one is beautiful.
Simplified Chinese edition
Illustrated by Li Min
I like the art style on this cover a lot. The illustrator took one of the most iconic scenes from the book and gave it life. Again, I'm not crazy about how Harry is drawn, but I really like the candles, the Sorting Hat, and Dumbledore.
American 15th anniversary edition
Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi
These are pretty popular in the United States; I've probably seen them almost as often as Mary GrandPré's editions. You won't be able to tell from the front covers, but the spines create a dazzling landscape of Hogwarts when all seven books are set next to each other. Kazu Kibuishi is famous for his Amulet graphic novel series as well.
Japanese 20th anniversary editions
Illustrated by Miho Satake
The first book's cover is my favorite in this set, so I'll include that one. It's the classic Hogwarts arrival scene, with Hedwig (I assume) in the foreground. I really like the art--it looks like it's done in watercolor or gouache?--and just the general relaxed feeling it gives.
Nerdy Ink editions
Illustrated by Nerdy Ink
These are made by a business that makes their own beautiful dust jacket covers for various books. These covers are probably some of my favorites in this list. I love how the characters are drawn, I love the design, I love the details. Also, THEY DRAW HERMIONE AS A GIRL OF COLOR!!! That alone gives them five stars from me.
Thailand 20th anniversary edition
Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Okay, if you thought my rants about the previous covers were crazy, wait till you hear what I have to say about these editions. I think I might have to learn Thai just so that I can read these copies. Like the Nerdy Ink covers, each of the Thai twentieth anniversary covers features one of the book's most important characters (on the back cover this time). But the artwork on these books literally shines! And each cover contains so many details and elements from the book, it's crazy. Even the backs of the covers are really intricate. There are many tiny details that you might overlook when you first glance at them: the little bar code on the back is a Hogwarts express ticket, Ginny's hair clip on the back of the Chamber of Secrets is shaped like a snitch, and a Blast-Ended Skrewt lurks menacingly in a corner of the Goblet of Fire. You can tell the illustrator really read the books.
Slovak 20th anniversary edition
Illustrated by Adrián Macho
These are a little reminiscent of the German 20th anniversary edition. I just love the art skill and color schemes that went into these covers. I especially like the Goblet of Fire cover, as it shows the scene of the Second Task and I think that scene should go into more covers since it's got a lot of art potential.
American 20th anniversary edition
Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Publishers went all out on Harry Potter 20th anniversary editions, and the American version doesn't disappoint. The really cool thing about this edition is that it's not the spines that merge together to create a picture when all books are lined up, but the front covers. As you will be able to see in this image, all seven illustrations connect to each other when they are placed next to each other (with a snake entwining all of them). I don't love the black-and-white aspect of these covers, because I think the Wizarding World is so colorful (you know, besides the fact that 90% of its characters are white) and the covers should display that. But Brian Selznick (author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) is a very talented illustrator and these covers are drawn in his signature style.
Well, that's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed discovering more Harry Potter covers as much as I did. Which ones were your favorites?
Sources
https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/olly-moss-designs-covers-for-new-harry-potter-ebooks
https://www.mugglenet.com/2017/04/meet-artist-behind-gorgeous-indonesian-book-covers-part-1/
https://www.harrypotterdatabase.com/books/us-editions/original-editions
https://nerdy.ink/products/harry-potter-re-covered-collection-1
https://www.harrypotterdatabase.com/books/us-editions/15th-anniversary-editions
https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Rowling/dp/133829914X
Wow, those are amazing! I was going to try to pick out a favorite, but I couldn't decide. Must have been fun to find them all.
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