Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The Illustrated Edition (Harry Potter, Book 2) (2)

I loved the thick cover of the book ! The bright, vivid illustrations make the Harry Potter world so much more visible! Best illustrated Harry Potter book I’ve ever bought! Harry Potter is another masterpiece of J.K. Rowling, a great read for anyone who loves magic, adventure, and books about friendship! My kids read the book many times!

As lifelong Harry Potter fans, we knew we had to get the illustrated edition by Jim Kay as soon as we saw it. Jim Kay’s illustrations are absolutely incredible—his take on the Harry Potter world brings a whole new level of magic to the books. Every page is a work of art, and the illustrations perfectly capture the essence of the characters and settings we know and love.Seeing these illustrations again has reignited our passion for the series in a way we didn’t expect. It’s like rediscovering the magic all over again! The details are so rich and vibrant, it almost feels like you're seeing the story for the first time.We love showing off this collection to every Potterhead who comes over. It’s one of those things that never gets old, and it’s so much fun to experience the wizarding world through Jim Kay’s eyes. If you’re a fan of the series, this is a must-have—an absolute treasure that brings the books to life in a new and beautiful way!

Way better than the regular hard cover books. The illustration really help add more visual perspectives when reading. 🙂Only issue is not sure who will be making the last two illustrated novels (Half-Blood Prince & Deathly Hallows), since Jim Kay is no longer affiliated. 🤷

I have been looking into illustrated editions of books 1&2 for my son to introduce him to HP books next year when he is 9 yrs/4th grade. At $21 with the holiday season price cuts, I figured this is the cheapest it will get and ordered Book 2 of this Jim Kay edition and Book 1 of the Minalima edition(Minalima's Book 1 was gorgeous). Jim Kay's illustrations feel closer to the movies and Minalima's closer to the books. Anyone looking for Harry Potter illustrated books will come upon Jim Kay's editions, the vivid colors and life-like visualizations gained quick popularity.This book has stunning illustrative spreads of Dobby, the Basilisk, Aragog, Diagon alley, Hogwarts castle, the sword of Gryffindor, and a two page spread of Harry at Quidditch. There are a few illustrative choices in this book that are very questionable though:-This edition over-all, this illustrator, seems to have something of an obsession with Draco Malfoy. In this book with so much to visualize, they have chosen to include 2 full page spreads of Draco! Such a colossal waste of space, would have made so much more sense to include Tom Riddle instead of one of the two Draco spreads.-Another very peculiar choice was in chapter 3 - Omitting to show the Weasley's burrow (there is one full page spread but it's in the shadows and you can barely discern what it is, so it almost doesn't count), or Ron's room, they have instead chosen to do multiple illustrations of garden gnomes throughout the chapter!These two choices are so peculiar, I wonder how no one raised an issue and these made it to the final copy.Two illustrations that I would have liked to have been included are-A full page spread of all the four houses in the dueling club, their wands out in action.-An illustration of the trio following the path of the Basilisk in the pipes.These 2 visuals would have added a lot of value to the story.One Jim Kay edition of whichever book you choose is a must have for a child beginning the Harry Potter series and for a collector.

Before I start this review, can we just take a second and rejoice in the amount of Harry Potter-related stuff we're getting this year? *Screams in excitement*Ok, Now, on to this review!I have been anxiously awaiting the release of the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets since I finished the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone! Some people might wonder why I'd buy another version of any of the Harry Potter books, but this is an absolute MUST HAVE if you even so much as LOVE Harry Potter and the wizarding world in general. Jim Kay has always brought JK Rowling's wizarding world to life, but these illustrated editions just take it to a whole new, exciting, and fantastic level.Part of the joy of reading (at least for me) has always been bringing the words on pages alive in my own imagination. This may seem counterintuitive to my raving review, but what if I told you that almost everything illustrated was at the very least close to what I had always imagined? It's probably part of the brilliance of JKR's vibrant descriptions, but it's still pretty cool when you see them.The illustrated edition of Chamber of Secrets is phenomenal in short. Inside the cover you see the Hogwarts Greenhouses, and it only gets better from there! I would like to say I could totally use LESS of the illustrations of the acromantuals! GROSS! Not only are they all over the contents pages, but there are WAY too many full page(s) photos of these gross spiders! PASS! My two favorites though are the illustrations of the phoenix and of Dobby!I could laude over the illustrations for a year, but I won't. What I love about this book (and for the whole collection of illustrated editions I hope!) is that this is the version I can see first introducing my (future) children to Harry Potter with. I put these on my bookshelves waiting for the day when I can show my kids the wonderful world that has filled my life with such fun and fantasy.The book DOES include the full text of Chamber of Secrets in case any of you were wondering, it just also includes some fantastic illustrations from Jim Kay!If you love Harry Potter, don't hesitate. Collect these editions! You and your family will love this for a long, long time!

I am hooked on these beautiful books! They are so pretty. Quality paper. Worth the cost!! Can't wait to get them all.