Harry Potter’s American publisher, Scholastic, will reissue the magical book series with all new covers to help celebrate the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (oooh! American title!).
The new cover for the first installment aptly depicts Harry’s first visit Diagon Alley (a.k.a. his first foray into the magical world) with Hagrid by his side. It’s a good choice considering just how fantastic that first Diagon Alley scene was in the film adaptation.
The old cover, on the other hand, shows Harry catching the golden snitch as a unicorn runs by and Fluffy, Hagrid’s three-headed dog, watches on.
Here’s the original:
Here’s the new cover:
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new covers will be released in September as paperbacks. If you’re a fan of the original, don’t fret! That artwork will still be used for hardcover and trade paperback editions.
As a Canadian, I can’t help but prefer the original British cover (below) and never really understood why they had to change “philosopher” to “sorceror.” I think kids are a lot smarter than publishers think.
What do you guys think? Yay or nay for the new cover?
