Though the final book has been released and the credits have rolled on the final movie, fans of the ‘Harry Potter’ series by J.K. Rowling know that the story will live on in our heads and hearts always. But thanks to Scholastic, they don’t have to stay there during this landmark year for the tales of the Boy Who Lived as they will be getting a makeover to celebrate the 15th anniversary of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ later this year.
According to a press release from Scholastic.com, the publisher will be releasing a special box set with all seven books in paperback to commemorate the anniversary with all-new covers designed by Kazu Kibuishi, the author of the graphic novel series ‘Amulet’. As a huge fan of the series and their covers, the Eisner-nominated creator called the opportunity “more than a little surreal”. Check out what else he had to say about working on this project in the quote below:
“The Harry Potter covers by Mary GrandPré are so fantastic and iconic. When I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn’t want to see them reinterpreted! However, I felt that if I were to handle the project, I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn’t, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle grade fiction. As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, ‘If I were the author of the books – and they were like my own children – how would I want them to be seen years from now?’ When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to feel. In a way, the project became a tribute to both Harry Potter and the literary classics.”
You can check out Kibuishi’s cover for ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ below:
While the box set is scheduled to hit shelves in September, the press release also announced that another box set will be released in November collecting ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, and ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ for the first time. The collection will be known as ‘The Hogwarts Library’ and the sales of that set will go to Lumos, a charity founded by Rowling that works to end the institutionalization of children, and Comic Relief, a UK-based charity that strives to create a just world free from poverty.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been fifteen years since the first book in the series came out and introduced us to the little wizard Harry Potter. Will you be picking up the box set with the new covers? What do you think of the first one? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
