The Chronicles of Narnia Mass Market Paperback Editions Get a Fresh Look for 2025
The mass market paperback editions of The Chronicles of Narnia have received a fresh new update for 2025!
Released on April 15th, these new designs feature art by Cliff Nielsen, who designed the cover art for the mass market paperback editions released in 2002 (see comparison below) as well as the 7-in-1 deluxe editions published in 2004 and 2025.
Some of the new covers borrow elements from the 2002 editions, with Prince Caspian most closely mirroring the original design, while The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Magician’s Nephew appear to be complete redesigns inspired by Nielsen’s original covers.
These mass market editions also feature black and white illustrations by Pauline Baynes, the original illustrator of The Chronicles of Narnia.
What do you think of these new redesigns? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Even though these were never the best cover sets to start with, the modifications are mostly alright – slightly stronger colour intensity all round, and some sharper visuals for some of the graphics (for better or worse in some instances).
The clear winner here is appropriately enough The Magician’s Nephew, where the figure now looks recognisably like Polly, rather than a generic silhouetted man crackling with electricity for some reason.
By contrast, The Horse and His Boy is probably the biggest loser – the new horse graphic just looks all wrong.
These covers must have sold really well. Hence issuing refreshed versions, and also the new set clearly drawing influence from them.
Of the refresh covers, I think MN is the only improvement.
I think the changes are big improvements. The original versions of these covers had a very dreamlike feel which would be great if they were covers for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, but they never really felt right for Narnia to me.
I wonder if the character rising from the pool on The Magician’s Nephew was always supposed to be Polly or if they changed that. I always assumed it was Digory. If it was always meant to be Polly, I think that says something about those covers.