Continuing in the proud 100 Scope Notes tradition of “hey look at this” posts of highly questionable worth, I bring you Cover Covers. The goal is simple – I take children’s lit covers that already exist and put a new spin on them. Here are the rules:
1. Covers will be created by performing a FlickrCC search for title keywords.
2. Image editing website Picnik shall be used to crop and add text.
3. I cannot spend more than 5 minutes on a cover. This helps in two ways – it saves me time, and serves as a handy excuse if the resulting cover is bad.
So, will our Cover Covers be more like Manfred Mann covering Bruce Springsteen’s Blinded by the Light (see: a cover more well known than the original) or Vanilla Ice’s cover of The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction (see: offensive trainwreck). I’m putting money on the latter. Today’s batch of Cover Covers are all likely to figure into upcoming Newbery Award discussions. Based on what follows, you should thank your local cover designer.
Side by side with the original:
(Source image: ‘untitled‘ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26771709@N06/3353035994)
At first I thought, “Ooh, this is pretty nice”. Then I realized it’s about as forgettable as a cover can be. While the original cover has caught some flack, I prefer it to my attempt.
Side by side with the original:
(Source image: ‘Every new day… (digitally coloured)‘ http://www.flickr.com/photos/44586678@N00/3031896263)
No contest on this one. The original, a very nice cover in its own right, is unquestionably way more awesome than my lame attempt.
Side by side with the original:
(Source image: ‘Social Evolution‘ http://www.flickr.com/photos/77315663@N00/1448713039)
I quite liked my attempt (in a retro, M.S. Corley kinda way), but the textbook-y vibe it gives off would be guaranteed kid repellent. Winner: original.
Side by side with the original:
(Source image: ‘Full Moon‘ http://www.flickr.com/photos/98943387@N00/8251577)
I got a little crazy and went Eggs on this cover, substituting the word “moon” for the image of a moon. As great as I think I am for doing this, it still fails to create anything close to the appeal of the original.
Check back in the future for more Cover Covers.
12 comments
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January 11, 2010 at 3:33 pm
MotherReader
No real cover cover winners in this round, but it will be interesting to see as time goes on. But one problem is that you tried several with already good covers. Try some bad covers and see if you can do better in five minutes. (I’m trying to think of a bad cover example and am failing, but I’m sure you’ll run across them in the library.)
January 11, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Scope Notes
Thanks for the input Pam – I agree with you. Maybe some unfortunate cover makeovers?
January 11, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Melissa (Book Nut)
I think it’s an interesting idea. You’re always harping on (to some degree) how important a cover is to the book, and this just proves the point.
Oh, yeah, and I second MR’s idea. Find some bad covers and see if you can improve upon them.
January 11, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Elisabeth(YSPrincess)
Hi, I’m a new follower of yours, and I really like your idea. Have you thought of making it into a weekly meme-type thing? :)
January 11, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Wendy
I love the Calpurnia Tate cover! Would definitely be the right choice if you were marketing it to non-middle-grade readers…
January 12, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Abby
Your new Where the Mountain Meets the Moon cover would pair perfectly with Every Soul a Star! :)
January 14, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Scope Notes
So true. So would that be like a Cover Covers Controversy? That’s children’s lit blog feature crossover gold!
January 13, 2010 at 6:55 am
Ms Yingling
Definitely like your When You Reach me cover much better. The original looks blah and 1980s (decade of worst cover art EVER), but yours is vibrant, and the hand goes with the “reach” in the title. I think students would remember this one much more.
January 14, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Scope Notes
Thanks for your vote in favor of my When You Reach Me. Although the current cover isn’t quite setting the world on fire, I do think it works well and connects to the story, so I give it the upper hand.
January 18, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Newbery, Caldecott, and Geisel Winners and Reactions « 100 Scope Notes
[...] book has been sitting on my to-be-read shelf for months. I’ll be cracking it open today. If my Cover Covers post serves as my Newbery picks, then I was 3-5. I’m happy with [...]
January 22, 2010 at 12:33 am
Cover Covers: Whitewash Edition « 100 Scope Notes
[...] I thought I might humbly offer my services for jacket overhauls. I like to call them Cover Covers. Click here to read my first Cover Covers post and learn the rules I abide by for these redesigns (basically, I [...]
January 22, 2010 at 12:58 am
aquafortis
Travis, you crack me up. This is fun. I love all your book-cover experiments.