Speaking of covers …
… as we were in this post a few days ago, a message from Liza Gilbert on the yalsa-bk listserv is the perfect follow up. Liza’s post (with her permission) follows. We don’t have copyright clearance to reproduce all the covers, but you get the idea and might like to try something similar with your readers. Liza is Head of Youth Services at a community library in Wisconsin. We thank her for allowing us to share. Publishers, are you listening?
Hello everyone.
While my BBYA group is waiting for the next list of nominees to be announced, we have worked on the issue of cover art. Both the professional lit and the teens themselves will admit that cover art has a lot to do with what they read. We set out to discover what works and what does not. This past week we presented the teens with several book titles and asked them to give their general comments on the art. Then we asked them for their 3-second opinion: given 3-seconds to look at the book would you read it? Overall, shiny and iridescent, if used responsibly, were huge hits with the teens. Also, elaborate often did not win out over simple. Lastly, the title and the ability to see the title were both extremely important to the teens. This was the first of our efforts at discovering the attractors and detractors in cover art, and we learned a lot.
Below are our results, in case anyone is interested. Yes, we had a few jokesters in the group.
Evermore by Alyson Noel
“I love it.”
“Definitely.”
“Reminds me of Twilight“
“The shading and popping color are cool.”
“Cover wouldn’t work without the flower.”
3-second: 5 yes, 3 no
Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer
“Lettering isn’t very good.”
“Title is horrible; the cover is even more horrible.”
“I would read it; it could be weird.”
“Looks like the people in the book could be robots.”
“Nothing can go wrong at a tea party.”
3-second: 3 yes, 5 no
[This cover got outright laughter from the entire group when we showed it to them.]
Forever Princess by Meg Cabot
“Too boring.”
“Horribly boring.”
“I would probably read it because I have read the first book in the series and I liked it.”
“Looks like there would be tragic death in it.”
3-second: 3 yes, 5 no
Mothstorm by Philip Reeve
“It’s just bad.”
“Reminds me of Killer Clowns from Outer Space.”
“The title lettering is cool.”
“Looks a little kiddish.”
3-second: 2 yes, 5 no
3 Willows by Ann Brashares
“Looks boring.”
“I like how it’s boring.”
“I like trees.”
“There is no clashing in the design, or over drawing.”
3-second: 2 yes, 6 no
Larry and the Meaning of Life by Janet Tashijan
“Seems interesting.”
“Reminds me of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
“The title has more strength than the cover art.”
3-second: 5 yes, 3 no
Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
“Don’t even show me the cover. The title is enough.”
“The title is great. The cover is not.”
“Would not want to read it without the title.”
3-second: 3 yes, 5 no
Fade by Lisa McMann
“It’s all dark with whitish details.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Boring and cool at the same time.”
“Simple and symbolic.”
“Letters are cool.”
“Definite yes.”
3-second: 7 yes, 1 no
The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb
“Looks interesting.”
“I love the color.”
“The key is cool.”
“I hate yellow, but this is cool.”
“I like the shininess.”
3-second: 8 yes, 0 no
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
“Looks boring.”
“I like the blue on black.”
“Simple but bold.”
“The title makes you want to read it.”
“Looks magical.”
3-second: 7 yes, 1 no
No More Us for You by David Hernandez
“I want to eat that book.”
“Food on a cover makes it that much better.”
“The title is bad grammar.”
3-second: 5 yes, 3 no
RuneWarriors by James Jennewein & Tom S. Parker
“Cool lettering.”
“Great design.”
“No, not at all.”
“Reminds me of the Master of Disguise.”
3-second: 4 yes, 2 no
The Lab by Jack Heath
“Looks like a comic book.”
“Too boring.”
3-second: 3 yes, 3 no
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
“Shiny.”
“The eye in the O is cool.”
“Claws are well done.”
“Looks like a Mayan calendar.”
3-second: 6 yes, 0 no
Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Cameron Dokey
“Yeah, no.”
“Doubt it.”
“Looks boring.”
“Only if it was the only book left to read.”
3-second: 1 yes, 5 no
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
“Lettering is very cool.”
“Lettering catches the eye more than the art.”
3-second: 2 yes, 2 no
[2 of our teens received ARCs from ALA Anaheim. Both said they preferred the simple design of the ARC more than the finished design.]
Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
“Don’t like at all.”
“No, not really.”
“Boring.”
“Boring.”
3-second: 1 yes, 5 no
This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff
“Freaks you out.”
“Hard to read the title.”
“The darkness with bright background is too much.”
3-second: 1 yes, 5 no
The Musician’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap
“I like that cover.”
“I like the title.”
3-second: 3 yes, 3 no
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
“Pretty cool.”
“Reminds me of Airman.”
“Boring.”
3-second: 3 yes, 3 no
Good Neighbors: Kin by Holly Black & Ted Naifeh
“Yeah, I’d look at it.”
“Interesting.”
3-second: 4 yes, 2 no
A Thousand Shades of Blue by Robin H. Stevenson
“I like the colors.”
“I like the art but not the title.”
3-second: 1 yes, 5 no
Indigo King by James A. Owen
“I like the color.”
3-second: 3 yes, 2 no
Charles & Emma by Deborah Heiligman
“No, unh-huh.”
“You see the words more than the picture.”
“Lettering is cool, the picture is not.”
3-second: 1 yes, 4 no
