Go to: Scholastic, by Kazu Kibushi
With all due respect to Mary GrandPré and her beloved cover illustrations for the American editions to the Harry Potter series, I prefer Kazu's interpretation to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone than to her own effort. It has more of an animated feature film feel to it when placed next to the more design-oriented, children's book approach from 1998.
Despite the action, Mary's composition appears a bit too static and the poses look a little clumsy to my eyes. She would off course get much better. Her visuals for all the books are flat and impressionistic, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. I'm just partial to Kazu's more naturalistic and substantial characters right off the bat. Besides, I think they're a much better fit for an audience already aware that the books have been adapted to the screen.
With art like that, I wouldn't mind seeing the book's interior filled with more of his illustrations.
