This meme was started by Books by Proxy, whose fabulous idea was to compare UK and US book covers and decide which is we prefer. This meme is being nurtured by Lynn’s Book Blog and this week we are featuring covers depicting FLYING. I’ve selected Searching for Dragons – Book 2 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede.
This offering, produced by HMH Books for Young Readers in November 2002, is clearly not featuring flying – it’s underground and depicting a band of rather desperate men facing down some really cross-looking dragons… I love the font and the artwork – it’s full of detail and while of its time, it is delightful.
Published in September 1992 by Scholastic, I love this cover. The artwork is again, absolutely fabulous with so much delightful detail, from the costume of the princess and the pattern on the underside of the carpet, to the landscape below… This is one of my favourites – despite the presence of that nasty strip of textbox running across the top. 
This edition is the updated version of the first cover, published in September 2015 by HMH Books for Young Readers. This is a very strong contender, as those wormlike dragons are absolutely terrifying and I also love the details on the font and the treatment given to the author font. 
This edition, published in October 1991 by Harcourt, Brace and World, is another cover featuring the flying carpet. I love the bright colours, the rippling carpet and the clear font. What I don’t like is that odd metallic frame sectioning the cover up and yet adding nothing to the design. It looks odd and is visually distracting. I’m not sure if it is supposed to represent the magical barriers raised by the wizards – but as far as I’m concerned, it simply doesn’t work.
This Thai edition is extraordinary. I love the way that elements of the story are all represented – with the protagonists toiling up the mountain in search of the lost dragon, which is trapped in a bubble. There is one of the manipulative wizards looming up the left-hand side of the cover, with an even darker, mightier draconic creature towering over everyone in the background. Here are the elements of high Fantasy portrayed in a single cover, through the lens of another culture. I love it and this one is also my favourite – because I simply cannot choose between this one and the classical European fantasy cover. They are both wonderful in completely different ways and for different reasons. Which one is your favourite?
Brainfluff 