On Wednesday, Scholastic unveiled the last of seven new covers for JK Rowling's Harry Potter series as part of its celebration of the 15th anniversary of the series' release in the United States. The books will be available — both individually and as a boxed set — as trade paperbacks on Aug. 27.
The vibrant new illustrations are the work of New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Kazu Kibuishi, who is best known for the Amulet series of graphic novels.
"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?'" Kibuishi said in a statement. "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."
Artist Mary GrandPré's original illustrations for the series will continue to be featured on the U.S. hardcover and digest paperback editions.
In November, Scholastic will also release the fist boxed set of the complete "Hogwarts Library," a supplement to the seven-book series that includes school books Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as the book of wizard children's stories, The Tales of Beedle the Bard. All sales from this boxed set will support the charities Lumos and Comic Relief.
See the new covers beside the original GrandPré covers (right) below:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
And, when you line up the new covers, you get this image of Hogwarts Castle:
Here's what the new boxed set will look like:
Scholastic also released a trailer for the new covers on the heels of today's unveiling:
View this video on YouTube
For the next seven days, Scholastic will also post the back covers of each new edition one at a time. The first book cover will be available via its website tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET.