Children and Adults

[Marky Lazer]

Now, I have a friend and she keeps pushing me to read Harry Potter. (I have no serious intention to do so, but don't tell her...) Anyway, I looked and saw a children's version and an adults version. What's the difference? Is is simply that children ones have covers that kids like better? And are these covers too childish for the serious adults?

Children versus adults...

 

[Cayal]

Different covers is all.

 

[Joel007]

Just like old pratchett and new pratchett.

 

[Pyan]

What difference does the cover make, anyway? If the book inside is the same, the picture on the front is irrelevant.....

 

[The Ace]

The only difference is the covers. I prefer the children's ones and have the whole set.

 

[Marky Lazer]

Silly reason to bring out different novels...

 

[Lith]

See the other active thread in this forum.

j/k, it's only a difference of covers. And I think that's only so people reading on the bus/subway don't feel embarrassed about reading a kid's book.

 

[Marky Lazer]

Well, that would be very silly. Wouldn't they better rip open a HP paperback and paste the pages into a cover of, say, Dante's Inferno? I mean, on the 'sophisticated' HP covers, it still says it is bloody Harry Potter!

 

[Koopa]

Its bassically done for all the cowardly adults who dont wanna be seen reading harry potter.

 

[Nesacat]

I like the children's covers and my whose set has those. They're quite fun really. Don't see why it's suddenly less 'embarrassing' just because the cover has been changed but there you go.

 

[Cayal]

Its bassically done for all the cowardly adults who dont wanna be seen reading harry potter.

right...

 

[Joel007]

Some people still haven't realised that children or "young adults" are often harder to please than adults, and won't read just any old book
I'll take Spot the dog over Wheel of time any day!

 

[The Ace]

Well yes Joel, but a lot of people would take a railway timetable over, 'Wheel of Time.'

 

[Nesacat]

Am quite curious ... what exactly is it that adults are worried about with these covers?
What do they think other people are going to think about them?

Why does it make it easier to read a kids book if the cover looks dark and sombre?

 

[Joel007]

I think that the adults in question aren't grown up yet

 

[alexx]

Personally I've seen more adults with the children's edition than the adult's..so it was a bit of a waste of money to make them as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Grimward]

Sorry to resurrect an old one here....

It would be interesting to learn whether the different covers made any actual difference in the rate customers grabbed them off the shelves....especially in the case of the older books from the series, like the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone book on the previous page. The "mature" cover (Bloomsbury's, apparently) had to have been published after that first book had already reached "saturation" levels, no?

 

[The Ace]

I'm not sure, I know they were released simultaneously in the UK, you got to choose which cover you wanted when you ordered it.

 

[Grimward]

Wow....I'm not sure I ever physically saw the "mature" covers over here. Could have been oblivious, of course, but if they are over here, they either aren't in the YA section where Potter usually resides (which, reasonably, might make sense if the cover was angling for an "older" audience) or they disguise themselves as Piers Anthony offerings....

 

[kythe]

I haven't seen either of those covers at all, but the American editions have always looked different anyway. I rather like the youthful appearance. All of mine have illustrations of Harry Potter and various characters from the books. I think the movies have done a lot to try to retain that "feel" of a magical community in the real world.

I just don't relate to a HP book with a picture of a gem on it. It looks more like a romance novel or something. I also think the HP books are so immensely popular even among adults that there should be no embarrassment for people of any age reading them.