They express their allegiance in online memes and label themselves as being on one 'team' or another of their particular fandom. The curious thing is, these young collectors may not use the word collector to describe themselves, referring to themselves instead as fans of X, Y, or Z. The Harry Potter phenomen is credited with many things, such as making reading cool again, but I believe it also introduced a generation to the idea of collecting books. Another exciting aspect of this edition is the addition of a map of Hogwarts at the beginning of each book! Unlike the previous edition, which featured the linked-spine binding by Kazu Kibuishi, the Selznick covers form a mural when shelved in order face-out (see animation below). To mark the end of Harry Potter's 20th-anniversary celebrations, Scholastic released new paperback editions with covers by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Brian Selznick ( The Invention of Hugo Cabret) on June 26, 2018. It's in-part their hard-earned imperfections that make these books so beloved by us.Ģ0th Anniversary Covers by Brian Selznick Naturally, the hardcovers are no longer in great shape, having been read by every family member multiple times, but replacing them with pristine copies is stangely unappealing. My children are lobbying for the addition of a set of the American paperbacks illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, because the spines of each form an image of Hogwarts Castle when displayed in sequence (known as a 'linked-spine binding' in the trade).

My own book shelves host two complete sets (so far), one American (hardcover) and one British (paperback), and one set-in-progress ( the illustrated editions). In fact, the major book collectors of tomorrow will likely bond over their memories of midnight-release parties and argue the merits of Mary GrandPré versus Thomas Taylor’s cover illustrations.

Harry potter book covers 1-7