Friday Face-Off: A Blue Road

The Friday Face-Off is a bookish meme hosted by Books by Proxy that compares book covers to decide which is best. Since I wasn’t able to do a Friday Face-Off last week, I’ll combine last week’s theme with this week’s. So that’s

Last week’s theme:

Like One, That on a Lonesome Road

A cover which features a road

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This week’s theme:

You Got the Blues

A cover which is predominantly blue

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A hybrid theme:

Rolling down a blue road

A cover which is blue with a road

Okay, so I’m cheating the whole way with this post because the book I’ve decided to go with is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I mean, it kinda hits the mark being mostly blue and it sorta features a road. Sure, it’s a street in Diagon Alley, but I’m sure we could drive on it. I mean, if all magic fails and brooms sticks and magic carpets stopped working, the only way to get that many books to Flourish and Blotts is by a truck. But anyways, here’s the

FACE-OFF!

Is it more cheating if I say I’ve done something similar before when I compared all the Harry Potter book covers? I’ll go with “no” to make myself feel better.

I really like both these covers. The one on the left is the US cover. Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, it shows Harry and Hagrid in the crowded street of Diagon Alley. The cover is mostly blue, which gives it a mystical feel. When we look at it, our eyes easily pick out Harry since he’s highlighted by Hedwig’s snowy white feathers and the looming figure of Hagrid, who is of course taller than everyone else in the picture. So there, I got my blue, cobbled road. I like the use of color here. The blue is light, you almost don’t notice it, which makes the yellow of the buildings’ light stand out. It gives me a cozy feel (or maybe that’s because I love the book).

The cover on the left is the UK cover illustrated by Jonny Duddle. I really like it. It shows Harry, Ron, and Hermione heading for the boats with Hagrid waiting for them. And across the lake is the wonderful Hogwarts. I like the use of color here too, especially in the background, where we can see the sun setting. It almost makes the illustration of Hogwarts a flat silhouette but I like how Duddle subtly gives it some depth. I also like that the stars around the title seem like twinkling stars in the sky. Though it should be Harry who attracts our attention since he’s the only one looking at us, my eyes immediately go instead to Hagrid because of the lantern he’s holding (I love his beard).

They’re both great covers, but there is a definite

WINNER!

Kibuishi’s cover is certainly my favorite of two. Actually, I like all the covers he did for the updated 2013 covers for the series. I love everything about this: the color, the illustrations, the placement of the figures. I especially like that Harry is placed in a sort of spotlight because the area around him is the lightest spot on the cover, apart from the title.

There are many other covers for the first Harry Potter book, but I won’t bother listing them all here. I’m pressed for time these days.

Let me know below which of the two you prefer.

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