Last year, Bloomsbury and Scholastic publishing houses released the first-ever illustrated version of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which featured drawings on every single page. Illustrator Jim Kay worked very closely with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling to make sure the tone of the beloved book was clear in the pictures. Now, the pair and the publishers have debuted the first images from the second book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
The cover of the still unreleased book depicts one of the more famous scenes from the second novel, when the Weasley boys rescue Harry from his aunt and uncle’s house. The beautiful illustration shows Harry, Fred, George and Ron in the blue Ford Anglia as they approach the Burrow, the home of the Weasley family and the destination Harry feels most at home at throughout the entire series.
The original U.K. cover of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” also shows the magical flying Ford Anglia, but depicts a different scene from the book - Ron and Harry in the car on their way to Hogwarts. Meanwhile, the original cover for the U.S. edition of “Chamber of Secrets” has Harry swinging from a phoenix tail in front of the actual chamber. Unlike the original books, the new illustrated versions will all have the same cover.
“Seeing Jim Kay’s illustrations moved me profoundly,” Rowling said about the book. “I love his interpretation of Harry Potter’s world, and I feel honored and grateful that he has lent his talent to it.”
Fans will be able to learn more information about the creatures and characters from the world of “Harry Potter” while reading the books, including details about the beautiful phoenix as seen in this illustration from the new tome. Overall, the illustrated “Chamber of Secrets” will feature 115 never before seen pictures all drawn by Kay and intertwined with the words written by Rowling many years ago, which is 15 more than in his version of “Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Kay is an award-winning artist who won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for his illustrations in Patrick Ness’ “A Monster Calls.”
The illustrated version of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is due out Oct. 4.