Itâs been 17 years since JK Rowlingâs phenomenal creation first hit UK book stores, and some may have thought that the hype would have died long ago (such as the 12 different publishers who first rejected âThe Philosopherâs Stoneâ), but Bloomsbury Childrenâs Books has proved Harry is as beloved as ever by revamping the seriesâ book jackets.
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âHarry Potter and The Chamber of Secretsâ: Jonny Duddleâs cover (L) and the original 1999 version (R)
Available in both hardback and paperback, the new covers for the world-famous series were illustrated by the award-winning artist, Jonny Duddle, who has worked on both Aardman films and Terry Prachett novels. Not only that, but Duddle has proven his talent for illustrating again and again through his picture books, the most note-worthy of which was both âThe Pirate-Cruncherâ and âThe Pirates Next Doorâ.
Duddyâs âThe Pirate-Cruncherâ
Duddle says he felt like âa proper Muggleâ when he was first asked to do the new covers, saying he had only read the first book âyears agoâ.
However, he soon changed his perspective, coming to see his untainted opinion of the books to be a benefit to him rather than a disadvantage. He even refused to watch the films while creating the jackets in order to block out all outside influences, and give Harry Potter fans and book-lovers worldwide something really great â and we think he has done just that.
All seven of Duddleâs new covers (available to view in detail here)
All seven of the new covers will be available for your Harry Potter collections come 1st September 2014. Happy waiting!