Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Remember a while back when I shared Kazu Kibiushi's artwork on the 15th anniversary Harry Potter book covers? Well, this week while I was putting Kibiushi's graphic novel, Copper, on hold for one of my favorite patrons--a 9 year old who comes in every week, multiple times per week; a voracious reader who loves to talk books with me and Prairie Dawn--I asked her if she'd seen Kibiushi's Harry Potter covers. Oh, the excitement!? She responded with, "WHAT?! NO!!!"I loved that she got as geeked about it as I did when I saw them. It was one of those "I LOVE my job" moments. Anyway, thought I would share a few of the back covers which I happened to stumble upon during in my Kibiushi search. LOVE them. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

As promised, covers of the original GrandPre design (top) and the new Kibuishi (bottom) cover. Not a big fan of the way Harry or Ron look.

As promised, the original by Mary GrandPre (top) vs. the 15th anniversary new illustrations by Kazu Kibiushi (bottom).

As promised, the original by Mary GrandPre (top) vs. the 15th anniversary new illustrations by Kazu Kibiushi (bottom)...I might like Kibiushi's cover better than GrandPre's. This is pretty bad ass.

As promised, the original by Mary GrandPre (top) vs. the 15th anniversary new illustrations by Kazu Kibiushi (bottom).

As promised, the original by Mary GrandPre (top) vs. the 15th anniversary new illustrations by Kazu Kibiushi (bottom). What is interesting to me about these designs is how Mary GrandPre's colors make her covers seem almost hazy and dreamlike to Kibiushi's bright and engagingly vivid covers. I love both!

As promised, covers of the original GrandPre design (top) and the new Kibuishi (bottom) covers for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ...keep checking back for the rest!

The Harry Potter series is getting a makeover, when on August 15th the books will be re-released (can you hear those cash registers clanking?) with new illustrations by Amulet series author and illustrator, Kazu Kibuishi--the new covers are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the HP franchise! The new covers definitely do something a little darker and more sinister than Mary GrandPre's softer originals. I like both illustrators covers...don't make decide which I like better! Keep checking back, I will share the originals and the newly illustrated covers over the next days... In celebration of 15 years of Harry and Hogwarts and happiness...and the new covers, we're hosting a Harry Potter read-in! I've ordered multiple copies of all the books, now we're just looking forward to people of all ages popping in, plopping down, and returning to Hogwarts. Ice cream will follow as our Butterbeer machine is broken...