15 years ago saw the release of the first Harry Potter book, and the making of a generation who grew to love reading throughout their adolescence. Now, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone” is being re- released with new cover art as a collector’s item, as many other works have done throughout the years — “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” etc. As someone who is a lover of all things Harry Potter (be they books, movies, posters or collectables), I frown at the new cover art.
The original art gave subtle hints as to what would be important to the plot, even if it wasn't obvious at the time to the reader. The center shot of Harry on the broom implied that flying would be a major component of the book. The unicorn coming out of the forest on the bottom left-hand side of the book suggested the reader might gain some knowledge of magical creatures at some point in the pages of the book and the monster in the castle of the bottom right of the cover ... well, that just looked cool, no matter if it was a plot point or not (and it kind of was a big fluffy plot point. Pun intended).
Looking at the new art, one can see Harry and Hagrid going through the streets of what must be Diagon Alley — though, it’s not exactly obvious judging by the cover that’s what they’re doing. Despite the joy of seeing Hagrid on the cover, who plays a rather large (no pun intended) part in the first book, regrettably there are no clues that the reader could use to determine parts of the plot.
There is no turbaned man hiding in the shadows. From the silhouettes, there are no identifying features that allow readers to guess if Snape or Malfoy are in the mass of people. There are no advertisements for unicorn horns or other potion ingredients, no brooms being sold, no shot of Gringotts in the background as Harry and Hagrid proceed through the shops, no wand shop— nothing to keep the intrigue and mystery of the original cover.
All in all, why fix what’s not broken? Every 30 seconds, someone picks up and starts reading the Harry Potter series. Obviously, the artwork of the original has yet to run its course and is still popular throughout the world.
Please, Scholastic, please don’t turn Harry Potter into a money pit and end up pulling a George Lucas in terms of sales. Let the children (and adults who still hang on to every well-written word) read the books with the original cover art and learn to decipher the clues.
Let them guess whether snakes would play a part in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” Let them attempt to figure out what creature Harry is grabbing onto and whether it will play a large part in the plot. Let them inquire as to the relevance of the sword in Harry’s hand.
Let them guess what the creepy thing (seriously, that thing is creepy) is on the back cover of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” Let them try to figure out the creature Harry is riding on the front cover (yet again. Seriously, the first three books seem to have Harry flying with some sort of aid on their covers). Have them spark debates about whether Harry’s flying with Ginny or Hermione.
Let them try to determine why a maze would be needed on the front cover of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Let them guess who the other people on the cover are. Let them discuss how the other elements on the cover will come into play throughout the book.
Let them guess who the characters on the back cover of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” are. Let them try to figure out just where Harry is supposed to be standing on the front cover.
Let them try to figure out what’s going on with Harry and Dumbledore on the cover of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Let them try to figure out just when the Dark Mark will come into play as to it being on the back cover.
Let them guess what will happen between Harry and Voldemort on the cover of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
While celebrating the 15-year anniversary of the release of a book that ended up shaping a generation is a good thing (for both readers and author by bringing focus back on to the book series), changing something that has been working quite well for all these years is not the way to go.
Regarding the changes and the covers, it’s almost like a bag of potato chips. You can’t eat one potato chip — it’s impossible. Just as it’s impossible to buy one Harry Potter book or try to stem the flow of a cash cow.
Please, mysterious people of Scholastic, don’t turn Harry Potter into a cash cow. Allow it to be cherished by generations to come. Do not make it the next “Star Wars.”
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
