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Bloomsbury release a brand new piece of artwork from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Illustrated Edition. Illustrated by Jim Kay, Kate Greenaway Medal winner, the image shows the front of Flourish & Blotts the bookshop on Diagon Alley where Harry buys his first set of school books. The image appears on the front of Bloomsbury Children’s Books New Titles catalogue (Jul-Dec 2015) and is part of a larger illustration of Diagon Alley that will appear in the finished book. Published globally on 6th October 2015 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Illustrated Edition will be the first fully illustrated edition of J.K. Rowling’s original Harry Potter novel. The hardback edition will include ribbon marker, head and tail bands, illustrated endpapers and artwork on every spread. Many of the original Harry Potter publishers around the globe will be joining the UK and the US in bringing this illustrated edition to life – and it is set to be the landmark publishing event of 2015.

Photo: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone new catalogue art of Diagon Alley revealed - SnitchSeeker.com

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Bloomsbury and Scholastic revealed their cover of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Illustrated Edition, featuring the Hogwarts Express, illustrated by Jim Kay and set to publish in hardback on October 6, 2015 around the world. Bloomsbury Publishing is excited to reveal the cover of the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay. Scholastic US are using the same cover image and will reveal it simultaneously. Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, today released the exclusive cover image of the fully illustrated edition of J.K. Rowling's bestselling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Bloomsbury UK also revealed the image simultaneously. Illustrated by award-winning artist, Jim Kay, the cover is an image of Harry Potter on Platform 9 ¾ surrounded by witches and wizards, trunks and owls, about to board the Hogwarts Express for the first time and is available for download at HarryPotter | Scholastic Media Room. The illustrated hardcover edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be published globally on October 6, 2015, and Scholastic plans to publish fully illustrated editions – one per year - of each of the seven titles. Over 450 million of the Harry Potter books have sold worldwide and the series continues to appear on bestseller lists in the U.S. Illustrated by Jim Kay, Kate Greenaway Medal winner, the front cover image shows Harry Potter beside the majestic Hogwarts Express. Fiona Noble of the The Bookseller said: “I’m willing to call this the most handsome and desirable gift book of the year. It is stunning...with full colour illustrations throughout from Greenaway Medal winner Kay, who breathes incredible life into these much-loved characters and locations, staying faithful to Rowling’s vision but revitalising the story for a new generation.” Published globally on 6th October 2015 this will be the first fully illustrated edition of J.K. Rowling’s original Harry Potter novel. The hardback edition will include ribbon marker, head and tail bands, illustrated endpapers and colour artwork on every spread. The illustrated edition will be published in more than 21 languages around the world. All will be using Jim Kay’s artwork and joining the UK and the US in bringing this beautiful edition to life. It is set to be the landmark publishing event of 2015.

Photos: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated Edition new cover art - SnitchSeeker.com

[Alexa]

i started re reading this series and just finished book 1. it was such a good introduction to the story! i love that jk introduced everything slowly and made it easy for the readers to grasp. and obviously each book got more intense.

the friendship with harry/ron/hermione was the best part of the book, it was also a shining moment for hagrid who was so lovable right from the beginning. i wanted a bit more dumbledore and harry/dumbledore but that was really the only thing it lacked.

its funny how short the book is though compared to the last one! haha.

movies followed it very well, but an unexpected moment was definitely taking the dragon to the roof because i forgot that happened! lol...

favorite secondary character was hermione. she just made me laugh and i love how she integrated herself in to the trio. they needed her. if she doesnt count as secondary then of course id say dumbledore. He's so lovable.

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It has been years since I last read this book and I want to re-read it again at some point. I do remember being really impressed with the story and wanted more of this wizarding world. I instantly did like the trio as well and Hagrid is definitely a fan favorite.

[jediwands]

Awe, meeting Rowling's Magical World for the first time while reading SS/PS just gives me goosebumps thinking about it. I was so engulfed after the first chapter. My life was never the same after that. This series changed my life and in a good way.

I feel like picking up the book now this weekend and will probably do just that.

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Me too and mostly I'm just curious on what I'll feel now that all the books are done and going back to this book. Everything was still new and fresh so it was pretty exciting times back then.

[Bec =)]

I've reread a part of SS/PS twice in the past few years, but never completed it.

But it certainly will be interesting to read it and get a perspective now eight years after the last book came out. We know what happened in the end, what will that journey to defeat Voldemort be like, going back to the very beginning?

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I can't believe it's been 14 years since the book was released.

[Bec =)]

It has been around for 19 years here. J.K. Rowling seems to make that go by in a flash, doesn't she?

I have started my third attempt at rereading SS/PS today. I got up to chapter 4, right after Hagrid delivered Harry his letter and told him he was a wizard.

It's strange now that having read the books, you can spoil yourself on parts that are ambiguous in the first book. I did see an error regarding Sirius, though. In the first chapter, Hagrid said he borrowed the motorbike from Sirius, and it was the night of November 1st 1981. But didn't Sirius confront Pettigrew and get sent to Azkaban that day? So how could Sirius have loaned his bike to Hagrid?

[Alexa]

that is an error because didnt everyone think sirius was guilty too? so hagrid wouldn't have thought he'd want to help harry after sending voldemort to kill him. lol.

i didnt book 1 until maybe after book 3 was already released and i remember i didnt love it but i liked it okay. everyone was obsessed with the series so i guess i had more expectations from it. i guess it felt a bit childish to me at the time but it got interesting near the end of the book so of course then i wanted to read the others. and i think by book 3 i was obsessed as everyone else.

but now, reading it, its amazing. i love jks writing. even though it is for kids she just has a great gift with detail and everything comes back around in the end, its awesome.

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Good catch Bec. Maybe Hagrid meant he borrowed it but didn't ask?

I got quite late into reading the books. I was unsure because I'm an adult when the books were released and HP is a "children's book" but it was getting some buzz and after a friend convinced me, I started reading and just couldn't stop. It came to a point where reading HP was the "coolest thing" back then that it wasn't weird for adults to be reading the books.

You guys are giving me that boost to pick up the book and read it and I might just do it this weekend.

[Bec =)]

I wasn't into it immediately, it took some time before I was. I probably started reading it in 1999... by that point, SS/PS, CoS, and PoA were already out.

I'm on the chapter where Harry sees his parents in the Mirror of Erised. He has just opened up the wrapping containing the invisibility cloak, and the note that went along with it... was it ever revealed who gave it back to Harry?

My guess it's Lupin. I mean, James wasn't trustworthy of Sirius due to paranoia; and there is a tiny chance it'd be Pettigrew. But why would Pettigrew give it to Harry and not useit to sneak out himself to find Voldemort? Lupin is the only remaining person, though he could have handed it to Dumbledore to give to Harry.

Another thing, I was reading the CoS thread and I remembered the horcrux diary. I know this is SS/PS, but remember after Harry rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, Arthur yelled at her saying something like "What have I always said? Don't trust anything where you can't see its brain!" Of course, this applies to pretty much everything, but anyways,... I remembered back to when I was reading about Harry's sorting and the Sorting Hat said something like "I may not have a brain" or something like that... and yet, they trust it?

Did they test it for dark spells? I think this brings up and yet closes a lot of plot holes that links the Sorting Hat to Tom Riddle's diary; which of course is revealed in Half-Blood Prince. But the issue still remains with the Sorting Hat.

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It wasn't revealed who gave the note. I just assumed it's either Sirius or Lupin (I can't see it to be Peter too honestly). But you're right that it could be Lupin seeing as James isn't trustworthy of Sirius that time.

Regarding the sorting hat, it doesn't have a brain but it contains the intelligence of the four founders and is skilled at Legilimency so that's why they trust it. Even so, the Sorting Hat has made a few errors in judgement about sorting students and it's not an "accurate" object so to speak but it does it's task. I think there's a new bit of stuff about the sorting hat on Pottermore but I can't recall it right now.

[Alexa]

well and the sorting hat is used under the supervision of dumbledore and all the hogwarts teachers. i think what mr weasly meant is not to trust objects you come across on your own.

oh i have an answer to your question!!!

on page 206 of book 3 (i literally just read it today) hagrid explains that he did speak to sirius once, and it was after harrys parents died and he couldnt believe that he spoke to him. hagrid didnt know he was the potters "secret keeper". sirius gave him the motterbike and wanted to get rid of it, hagrid thought it was suspicious. so he must have given the bike to hagrid that day before he was taken off to azkaban.

so there was an explanation after all .

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Thanks Alex. I need to re-read POA as well.