Will the pictures move? Harry Potter fans can rejoice come October, because the best-selling cultural phenomenon is getting its first-ever entirely illustrated (and in full color) edition. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Scholastic announced that it will release the first installment, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, on Oct. 6, and plans to release one newly illustrated Potter book per year for the next seven years.
The beloved novels, penned by legendary British author J.K. Rowling, will be brought to life through the illustrations of artist Jim Kay.
“To be given the opportunity to design the characters, the clothing, the architecture and landscapes to possibly the most expansive fantasy world in children’s literature, well let’s just say I’m extremely excited about it,” Kay said in a statement. “The story is everything, and so I want to bring what I can to really show the depth of Rowling’s stories, to their best.”
Scholastic has already released four images of central characters from the series, including Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Rubeus Hagrid.
From 2001 to 2011, the seven Potter books were made into eight massive blockbuster films, featuring Daniel Radcliffe as the boy wizard. In 2010, Universal Studios opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.
Tell Us: What do you think of these illustrations?