You can see the covers here on the Bloomsbury website. http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com
The style is modern and colourful, and what I like most is how descriptive they are. You can assume that the new generation of kids the covers are aimed for have watched or will watch the movies; and the imagery directly evokes scenes from the films, such as the Patronus Charm in The Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry's fight with the dragon in The Goblet of Fire.
But there's one thing in the covers that I find strange. Here, take a look.
The Harry Potter series takes place over seven years and Harry hasn't grown at all. Comparing book one to book seven, Harry looks as though he's the same age - 11. Harry's height only comes up to Dumbledore's waist in The Half Blood Prince. The covers may be aimed at children, but I see no point in keeping Harry as a small child in the covers, when he keeps growing within the story. The covers are supposed to help the readers imagine the entire world, so the inconsistency of Harry's appearance irks me.
Taking a closer, comparative look at the Harrys' faces, you can clearly see that he should age. The face in The Deathly Hollows cover is slightly skinnier, but the youthfulness is still there. I understand that you want the main character in the cover to reflect the target audience, but let me tell you, they will grow by the time they get to the last book. I was 14 when I first started reading the books and I was 19 by the time I finished.
The new covers are aimed at the post-film generation and I believe they needed to take it that one step further in ageing Harry to make it true to the story.
