I adore this book. I love the chaos and dialogue, and the magic and characters. I love that it is simultaneously hysterical and heart-warming. With this full spread cover design project I wanted to capture the slightly ambiguous atmosphere (quite literally) since with Diana Wynne Jones' books, there always comes a point when everything seems to happening at once. One feels giddy with excitement and joy, and yet, there always seems to be an element that is just out of grasp. Readers receive no explanations in her books: it is demanded that we use our imagination in every sense. This element, along with the fact that this book features a castle with a door that leads to multiple places, inspired the composition. 

​

Finally, the daffodils are taken from Sophie's line, "Be daffodils!...Be daffodils in June, you beastly things!" in which she's yelling at ferns and lilies in a sink. The line feels both funny and tragic considering the spell Sophie is under, and I thought it appropriate imagery for the cover.