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May 03, 2007
The Mysterious Case of Raisin Rodriguez
More of my friends in the kidlitosphere are talking about book covers these days. I couldn't approve more. Especially when you're considering books to add to a library collection, covers can – and probably should? – be an important part of the selection process. Traditional reviewing practices, even in publications primarily aimed at the librarians, encourage us to pretend that covers don't matter.
What a bunch of hooey.
Anyway, remember how much I loved those Raisin Rodriguez covers last year? Here's a sample:
Back when I first saw that cover, I thought, "I want to read that!" What's more, I went the extra mile and read both books in the series. They're just the thing for middle grade girls looking for something light and fun. I guess they thought the covers looked too young, though, because look at what they've done to Raisin's paperback edition:
Yuck.
Props for color and design, but that girl is very clearly a model, which Raisin so isn't. That's part of her charm.
This all came to my attention because I saw an ad for Raisin's newest title:
I genuinely enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I don't want to read the new one AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE COVER. I'm an adult. I know better. But still....
Maybe these covers are the result of focus groups (although I suspect it's something more like wanting to compete with those flashy-dashy covers on the uber-popular Clique books) and Raisin's going to be the next hot thing, but I wonder how the actual target audience would size up these options.
Posted by adrienne at May 3, 2007 11:10 AM
Comments
The purple is nice, but the first design is waaaaaay better...
Posted by: jp at May 3, 2007 01:49 PM
I think I'll take one of the new ones home for Liz and see what she says about the cover. Knowing her as I do, I expect she will have a better reaction to the orange cover than the ones with the model, but you never know.
Posted by: Patty at May 3, 2007 03:31 PM
Ooo! A test audience! Perfect -- do let me know what she has to say.
Posted by: adrienne at May 3, 2007 04:00 PM
When I was 8, my local library had those ugly striped and plaid (or gingham) covers smacked onto books. They were yellow and green, or red and beige, but always faded event though they had clear plastic covers. What was with that? Is there a history of children's book covers that explains that particular phase of ugly?
Posted by: Alkelda the Gleeful at May 3, 2007 06:16 PM
I have seen covers like this, but I do not understand them. It's like the colors they pick for books that are rebound in academic libraries. You *could*, in theory, bind those things in any color, but they always choose something like mustard yellow and then put the books in a dimly lit basement that makes you feel like you want to die.
Or maybe that's just UB, where I got my MLS.
Posted by: adrienne at May 3, 2007 07:42 PM
By the way, Jason, I thought that I should note that I agree with you completely.
Posted by: adrienne at May 3, 2007 07:47 PM
I agree: orange cover=much more enticing! Generally I hate photographs of people on covers. They ruin my image of the characters and they're usually too conventionally pretty/handsome.
Posted by: Stephanie at May 3, 2007 11:54 PM