Things I Can't Wait to See in the Upcoming HP Illustrated Editions

Harry Potter Month is hosted by Faith at Geeky Zoo Girl and Micheline at Lunar Rainbows Reviews. This fun event runs throughout the month of July. Find out more about it here.

As I said in Thoughts About the Harry Potter Illustrated Edition, it took me some time to get used to the new visual look at the HP world and characters but now I'm in love with the art work. The artists style is really dark and shadowy, while at other times it is filled with vibrant colors I'm really excited to see the future books and the scenes and characters envisioned inside them. After some thought, here are some of the characters and places that I'm most excited to see in the new illustrated editions.

The Chamber of Secrets: The artist does shadowy/creepy scenes really well. I can't wait to see what he does with the Chamber of Secrets.
The Marauders: It always annoyed me a little that in the movies the Marauders were played by actors much older than their characters were supposed to be, but since the actors were so amazing I couldn't complain too much. Still, it would be interesting to see them reimagined.
Thestrals: Beautiful creepiness.
Dementors: More creepiness.
The Department of Mysteries: Mysterious and creepy labyrinth filled with magical things. 
Room of Requirements: So much clutter and interesting stuff to see.
Grimmauld Place: Dark, mysterious, magical, dangerous, chaotic. What's not to love?
Knockturn Alley: More creepy awesomeness.
Rita Skeeter: She's such a flamboyant and extreme character. It would be fun to see her reimagined.
Luna Lovegood: Pretty much for the same reasons.
The Yule Ball: The set in the movie really was visually amazing and it would be interesting to see what the artist does with it.
The Lake: I imagine that it would be cool to see under the water in GoF
Slytherin Common Room: I don't know if this will be included in the CoS illustrated, but I really hope so. There's so much to see in a common room and so many details that could be snuck in. And it would just be really cool to see my common room.
The Ceiling in Luna's Room: This is one of the most beautiful things in DH and I really wish that it would have been in the movie, but I don't think it would have had the same impact as it does in the books. That is why I really hope that it makes it in the pages of the DH illustrated. 

What things do you most want to see illustrated in the new Harry Potter editions?

                    -Christina

Thoughts About the Harry Potter Illustrated Edition

Harry Potter Month is hosted by Faith at Geeky Zoo Girl and Micheline at Lunar Rainbows Reviews. This fun event runs throughout the month of July. Find out more about it here.

I love the Sorcerer’s Stone illustrated edition, I really do, but I have to admit I was a bit hesitant after I first saw the picture of Diagon Alley. It’s huge, incredibly creative, completely chaotic, and there are so many things to find. It is magical. My problem with it at first was that it was not the Diagon Alley that I knew. There’s nothing in Rowling’s text to say that Diagon Alley doesn’t look the way it does in the picture, but I had grown too attached to the movies.

I am not a visual reader. The majority of the time when I read a book I cannot picture the setting or what people look like. I find magic in the words themselves even though I usually cannot conjure up the picture in my brain. When I watch a movie that is based off a book it gives me the world and the characters in a way I never had before. It gives me something to visualize. So when I read the Harry Potter books I see Hogwarts, I see the lake, I see the great hall, I see the Hogwarts Express. The world that the movies bring to life, the actors that bring the characters to life are what I see when I read. To me, those images are a part of the books.

At first I was hesitant about liking the illustrated book because it was not showing me the world I knew and loved. Now I know that is what makes it magical. The art by Jim Kay is showing us the world of Harry Potter through different eyes. There’s new magic to experience in the artwork and the way it brings the story to life. One of my favorite pictures is the one at dusk where there are dozens of birds sitting on the Quidditch hoops. That one picture seems to bring the story into the physical world; of course the birds would want to sit on the hoops, I wonder if Filch has to go clean them off or if Madam Hooch has a spell to take care of the mess. I wonder if Oliver Wood ever had to chase away birds when he was playing keeper. The picture itself is beautiful, but the way it encourages readers to continue to use their imagination while reading and access the world in new ways is exciting.

Because of this book, I’ve stopped trying to see the Wizarding World one way. The visual world the movies provide will probably always be more prominent in my mind when I read, but now the art from the illustrated edition will help visually enrich the world I love.

                    -Christina