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‘Harry Potter 6’ Cover Revealed
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) – What has Harry Potter gotten himself into this time?
Judging from the cover — yes we dare — of the latest J.K. Rowling book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the world’s favorite boy wizard will confront something eerie and possibly glowing.
The image of the book’s cover, which Scholastic released on Tuesday, March 8, depicts Harry and Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore peering into a basin emanating a green light. It’s possible that Harry and his mentor are scrying, or trying to divine the future. Scrying is often done with a crystal ball, mirror or something reflective like liquid that shows images of the future.
“For the cover of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ the mood of the art is truly eerie,” says artist Mary GrandPre, who also created the artwork for the U.S. versions of the first five books in the series. “I wanted the colors to be strong and I chose upward lighting and dramatic shadows to convey a kind of surreal place and time.”
“Individually, each jacket is like a concentrated visual taste of the book inside, and collectively they form a portrait gallery of a boy growing up very much in the public eye” says Arthur Levine, Vice President, Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic and editor of the Harry Potter books.
“Half-Blood Prince” is the penultimate volume in the seven-book children’s series that picks up where the previous installment left off, with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge finally acknowledging what a 16-year-old Harry and his pals have known for five years: evil wizard Lord Voldemort didn’t die after all and is wreaking havoc once again.
The book will be released on July 16, along with the simultaneous release of the deluxe edition, which includes a 32-page insert featuring near scale reproductions of GrandPre’s interior art, as well as a never-before-seen piece of full-color-art for the frontispiece. The deluxe edition, which retails for double the regular book at $60.00, will also come in a foil-stamped cardboard slipcase and will include a blind-stamped cloth case, full-color endpapers printed with the jacket art from the regular edition, luxurious foil, and a wraparound jacket featuring exclusive, suitable-for-framing art by GrandPre.
The “Harry Potter” books have been adapted for the silver screen, with the fourth book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” heading to theaters on Nov. 18.