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 
I have to agree with you Sarah. That one is hands down my favourite. Change the font to the one from September 2015 and it would be perfect.
Ooo… you’re right Carla – that font on the original isn’t brilliant. But yes – the font on the 2015 edition of the HMH cover is awesome:).
I think I’m going to have to pick the Scholastic cover. Not only is there a dragon flying, but you have the flying carpet as well. Lots of “flight” on this cover😁
Yes! I’d like to claim that I realised I had a double-flight thing going on there – but to be honest, I only noticed the dragon once I enlarged the image:))
I’ll choose the updated version of the first cover. I think it has the best artwork.
It’s certainly a very dramatic scene, isn’t it?
Can’t say any of these really jumped out at me this week, but the second to last one does have a certain charm to it! 😀
Yes – it is rather cute, isn’t it? And the bright yellow carpet gives it a cheery feel:)
The last one is so fantastical. I love it!
Oh I’m so glad you love this one too, Laura – I’d begun to think that no one else would enjoy this as much as I have…
I love the third cover! Apart from the snakelike dragons (they look very mean!), the light at the center and the surrounding darkness make for a great contrast. 🙂
Yes – the striking thing about all these covers is that the artwork is very well done, I think…
The Scholastic cover appealed to me the most. They all certainly had their positive points!
They all provide sufficient variety, don’t they?
Yes!
I think my favourite is the Scholastic one but I also like your choice – is that a ‘Gandalf’ type figure to the left?
Lynn 😀
There are, apparently, some interfering mages who are busy manipulating the characters who decide to snatch the dragon. I haven’t read this one, but this post has made me want to get hold of the series…
What styles here! Even that fourth one, weak as it is, has a style with the carpet magically flying over that metal frame. The first one’s got that cartoonish whimsy I know my kids dig, that second one’s so precise with detail and vivid like many of the covers I saw in my own childhood, the drool of the hydra heads in the third practically glows beneath those menacing eyes, and that last one! As you say, it brings all the best together. And now I have to find THIS series. Why oh why don’t I keep my library account open every time I read your posts, lol?
I know! I also want to get hold of this series, too, Jean!
PS: Wrede wrote the novelization for STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH?!?!
Really??? It is a small world!