I really like the cover art for the UK edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, I’m a sucker for blue too. Just made my desktop a picture of a sapphire blue lake with a backdrop of sky blue sky, with the thinnest separation of dark green evergreens.
I like it too. It looks like it’s a fairy tale sort of book much more then the American standard version.
The U.S. version just reminds me of Halloween. The UK version makes me think of fairy tales, like Shane said. This is the first time I’ve preferred a UK cover over a US one.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that had that reaction. Maybe I’ll try to figure out how to get both.
I definitely prefer the standard UK version over the standard US version, but I’m going for the collector’s edition. That just reminds me so much of the old tomes… I love it !
Yes, the UK one is preferable. Much more, as Travis said, fairy tale like. Gives a sense of oldness & usedness (although that’s not a word) but you should know what I mean.
Shane’s comment (about this cover making the book look more like a fairy tale book got the wheels turning.
As a child, I’d read many of Andrew Lang’s fairy tale books. They were named afer the colours in the rainbow (and some colours not found in the rainbow: grey and olive!). So I thought it’d be interesting to Google the Blue Fairy Tale Book and see what I would see.
Guess what? The Blue Fairy Tale Book, published in 1889, was the first of Lang’s fairy tale books. The original cover is indeed blue, although the designs are not very similar. Here’s the link:
http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/blue.htm
You have to ask yourself: coincidence? or did the publishers latch on to an older tradition which will resonate with their older readers?
Addendum to my last comment.
I had assumed that the cover pictured at the link I posted was the original cover. Wrong.
I have since found a copy of the 1st edition on e-Bay: it’s leather bound, with a powder blue cover, no designs or pictures on the outside (beautiful illustrations inside). Asking price is 742 Pounds.
I’ve also seen an 1892 6th edition cover on e-Bay: this one features a witch riding a broom, in blue against a deeper blue cover.
The cover posted at the link I cited above appears to be from the 1965 edition, of which there are many around.
So I guess the only common factor is the blueness.
Oh, the UK edition really is lovely. I think the only thing the American standard edition has going for it is the artistic similarity (font, etc.) to the regular books in the series. I wonder how expensive it would be to ship a UK edition to the United States….
I could do it for you if you really wanted me to. We get the UK editions here in Australia.
I’m all for the UK covers- on all the Potter books. Don’t get me started about Grand Pre!
Oh, Matthew, now that you’ve brought up Grande Pre, you can’t leave us hanging!
I asked you not to get me started, revgeorge!
I just find her art so goofy and a massive turn-off. I’d be embarrassed to give someone a Harry Potter book with her art on the cover. Her Harry looks like a myopic jerk and a prepubescent girl version of herself. To me, her covers do nothing to capture the quality of the stories, the relationships of the characters and the importance of the issues raised. They all seem to represent a joke version of the stories to appeal to children too young to read the stories anyway. They’re not stories about Jabba Jaws for crying out loud.
Matthew has troubles clearly expressing his frustration and letting it all out
I’ll give the alternative point of view, just for fun. I think Grand Pre’s art is clever, fun, and captures the feel of the books fairly well. And Rowling says they’re her favorite, too.
Travis,
Yeah, but what would Rowling know?
Remember, the Grand Pre’s covered books have probably made Rowling more millions of dollars than any other covers.
Doh re me!
I definitely like this cover over the U.S. version. The UK edition was illustrated by JKR I presume? I recognize the skull and…it just looks better.
I must say, I like the first three American covers over their UK counterparts, but after that I’m not much of a fan of Grande Pre’s art. I have the whole set in the British edition, not for the covers but for the insides. I know there’s not much of a difference, but I do like reading about trousers and the like and how Dudley’s first word is actually “shan’t” not “won’t.”
If you want to get the UK version and you live in the US it’s surprisingly easy. Just open an account at amazon.co.uk. You have to pay a little more shipping and whatever the price of the book is in pounds, but they ship it right to your door from England, no questions asked.
I like this one so much better. I have preordered it (plus the deluxe edition – of course!).
the UK cover art is apparently enchanting and more noble ..Yet I’m obsessed by collector’s edition…I think I’m going to order both of them…and you should do the same! we’re talking about Harry Potter,not anything else! the UK cover has an appearance proper for an old fairy tale..THE TALES OF THE BEEDLE THE BARD!!! Oh God why do I like this story as an addicted?? I don’t want to get rid of it till the death..
Oliver, I’m very tempted by the Collector’s Edition also!
If you’re going to order both, by the way, (shameless plug alert), feel free to click over to Amazon using the links in the sidebar of this blog (to the right). Helps support the site!
thank you for advice Travis….