I do think Voyage of the Dawn Treader has a leg up on creativity and style, simply because much of the artwork has the freedom to use much of the ocean or ships. There's a lot of imaginative style which can be derived from that scenery. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean:
It's hard from the image to see the first book picture too clearly. It takes the boat and gives it a dragon like appearance and the water itself is an unusual color. I like especially the frame around this edition - how neat. The second though blows it out of the water. How cool? The coloring, the creature on the front wrapped around the boat. Speaks clearly of a high fantasy element these books possess.
The first again displays the unusual simple artwork that I just love. Not much to say about it but they threw in the cool green creature and the ship - looks a bit grouchy doesn't it? The second is also nifty but the creature itself is almost too simple in it's style. More colors and imagery with the second but I prefer the first for this batch.
How beautifully blue the first is - you can almost feel the icy quality and touch they were trying to reveal. The ship itself looks almost glassy and classy. The second takes a more illustrated kid approach and showcases it as the storybook it really is. This is a tough call because I like both of them for different reasons. If I had to choose a favorite of these two, I think I'll go with the second by a small smidgen.
I love both of these. The first focuses on the creature and gives it expressive eyes. There's something about the scales being so clearly penciled in, and the mouse, which add an almost childlike charm. The second is a classy version of the cover, showing the ship amidst a background of royal blue. The first is more kiddish, the second more high art. I typically prefer the classier versions but in this case the creature draws me, so the first is my favorite of the two.
The first is the cover I have. It's almost simple but there's something calming about it in person. Perhaps it's the sunlit colors. The second is awesome too though - can never go wrong with purple and that detailed ship looks positively angry. For the simplistic style and the colors that just pop, I think I'll go with my cover and choose it as the best of the two-grouped batch.
Overall Personal Favorite: 1st batch, 2nd book
