Differences between US & UK editions

[mjollner]

No: HPFGUIDX 35457

Curious about the much ballyhooed differences between the US and UK 
editions of the HP books, I recently ordered a set of four UK edition 
paperbacks.  I've had a bit of time now to peruse them, and what 
surprises me is not the textual differences (more on that later), but 
rather the artwork.

In the abstract, I prefer Mary GrandPre's illustrations on the US 
books to those that decorate the UK editions.  I do like her little 
pen & ink drawings that decorate the first page of every chapter. 

However, her warm-n-fuzzy pastel cover illustrations seem a little 
too...how shall one say..."upbeat," perhaps? for the darker tone the 
series is now taking.  In particular, after reading the US GoF, I was 
struck by how misleadingly cheerful the picture of Harry on the front 
is, waving his wand over the Goblet of Fire, whereas in the book, 
Harry doesn't smile much, and with good reason.  I then looked at the 
US PoA book again, and sure enough, the cover seems inappropriately 
happy, with a smiling Harry and Hermione (whom I thought at first was 
Ginny, since on my copy at least, her hair looks red) riding Buckbeak. 
 
Compare these to the cover of UK PoA, with a terrified Hermione 
clutching a determined, serious Harry taking Buckbeak to rescue 
Sirius.  Not to mention the cover of UK GoF and that awesome rendering 
of the dragon.  I got a very different, darker impression of the book 
just from looking at that picture.

The difference between the illustrations for the various editions were 
what really got my attention.  I found the textual differences to be 
mostly superficial, although I did notice a few corrections in my UK 
GoF paperback - the Priori Incantatem order was fixed, as was 
something Dumbledore says to Sirius and Snape after they shake hands 
in the hospital, "...unless the few of us who know the truth stand 
united, there is no hope for any of us."  In my US hardcover edition, 
it reads, "...unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand 
united..."  Quite a different meaning!

Others have mentioned recently ordering one set or the other of the 
books to compare differences; anyone else struck by anything unusual?