Top 10 Book Covers
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy and Lynn: We all know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do. Our students do and it certainly influences us. We get really irritated (and so do our teens) when the cover art does not accurately portray the contents of the book. We understand that marketing is the primary motivator, but we don’t care–we want the illustration to match the author’s text. Here are ten 2011 titles that make us want to read them due to the fabulous cover art…
Geek Fantasy Novel by E. Archer
(Scholastic 2011)
Our inner geek was
immediately attracted to this cover.
Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen
(Dutton 2011)
One of the most dramatic covers ever!
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
(Penguin/RazorBill 2011)
You have to love the horizontal take on the
classic vase/faces optical illusion.
The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin
(Harper/Balzer & Bray 2011)
Perfect cover–you just want to read this
at first glance and you know it will be funny!
Where I Belong by Gillian Cross
(Holiday House 2011)
This is such a compelling cover…oh, those eyes!
And a story of haute couture set in London and Somalia.
We need to get our hands on this.
Four Seasons by Jane Breskin Zalben
(Knopf, Feb. 2011)
There’
s something refreshing about this color palette…the coral pink against the black and white. There were several piano key covers recently but this one drew our attention.
Spoiled by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
(Little, Brown 2011)
I liked this one better than Lynn, but perhaps that’s because I have two daughters and it was refreshing to see some order made out of the chaos that clutters my bathroom counters!
Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann
(Archaia Comics 2011)
Gears, a unique look to the characters and the fine bookmanship of this graphic novel made us sit up and take note. We were not disappointed.
And who says that Nonfiction can’t have enticing covers…we liked these two a lot…
Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin
(Random/Knopf 2011)
Young readers who don’t know the history will be drawn in by the flames licking the cover.
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg
(Walker 2011)
This one has been immensely popular in our middle schools…great cover and great title with lots of shelf appeal.
So…we’re curious….what covers have tempted you recently? Or irritated you? Leave us a comment.
June 18th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Ooh, I hadn’t heard of WHERE I BELONG before, but I do love that cover!
Generally I’m not a fan of the headless-girl on covers, but I really like the cover of BEAUTY QUEENS. It’s so bold that it reads like an intentional artistic choice rather than trying to embody a character the reader can view herself as. Also really like the cover of EONA – much more interesting than EON’s cover.
June 18th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Oh, Angela…how could I have forgotten Beauty Queens…AWESOME cover and a great book. That’s the problem with top ten lists…I always forget a favorite. Thanks for posting!
August 19th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
[...] and haven’t read the same titles to do a regular post). Earlier this summer we posted our Top 10 Book Covers so the next logical progression is to feature our Top 10 Book Titles. This is in no way an [...]