Judging a Book by Its Cover

Did you know that book covers vary by country for the exact same book?

Copyright All rights reserved by demonkeeper

Copyright All rights reserved by demonkeeper

Last fall at a presentation at WLMA, Royce Buckingham, author of Dead Boys, a 2014 Sasquatch nominee showed photos of the different covers to his books. They varied by country, sometimes by a little and sometimes by a lot. I thought that was fascinating. Why would a publisher change the cover? Is there that much difference in reading audience expectations in regards to book covers? Apparently, the answer is yes. Look at the differences in the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows covers.

harrypotter2

 These book cover differences amuse me. Why are they so different?  Who makes these decisions? I just did a post about The Chronicles of Egg: Deadweather and Sunrise and as I looked for book cover images, I discovered that there are quite a variety. Geoff Rodkey talks about this topic on his website too. So I thought we could have a poll and you could vote for your favorite book cover. Here are the options first to help you decide which cover you like the best.

Option A: USA

deadweatherusa

Option B: United Kingdom

UKcover

Option C: Spain

deadweatherspain

Option D: France

deadweatherfrance3

Option E: Germany

German-cover

Option F: Italy, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand

australiaetall

So what do you think? Enter your opinion here on our poll!


You might also we interested in viewing the book trailer for the book. There’s even a TV ad in Turkish available to view. Check out Geoff Rodkey’s website.

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5 thoughts on “Judging a Book by Its Cover

  1. You know I am partial to the original American one;I guess I am almost sentimental about it, but I do like the UK one very much; I’m torn. I had seen the German one…yow! The French one is cute.

    • Hi Tonette,
      I don’t now that I have a favorite, except I really dislike the French version. It doesn’t invite the reader inside too much. The German version is very violent too, which would give readers the idea that the story is much more gruesome than it really is!
      Julie

  2. Mrs. Hembree,

    Thanks for this…very interesting. I too, have to vote for the American cover. It feels like you’re standing beside Egg and Millicent looking out helplessly at the chaos unfolding in front of you – a balloon sailing off into the unknown, approaching pirates in a foreboding sea, a house balancing on the brink… Having read this story, I feel like the book delivers on this promise as from page one it takes you along or an exciting, perilously fun journey. Glad that Guts made it onto the over of the second book : )
    I agree with your comments about the French version (not too inviting) and I wonder how sales of the German one are…!!! I think the Spanish cover would appeal to girls.
    September is just around the bend…can’t wait to hear about your summer reading.
    Judy

  3. Dear Mrs Hembree,
    I have noticed the some book covers are different in different states and countries. I also noticed that the Alice Miranda Goes to School cover is different to the one in Australia. The fourth book in the Harry Potter collage is the one in Australia because we have that type of cover in Australia.

    With the Chronicles of Egg book cover I like the Spanish cover as that cover would strike me.

    From your pal,

    BB.

    • Dear BB,
      I really don’t understand why the covers are so different, do you? Yes, the Alice Miranda covers are different and so are the covers on the Andy Griffiths books. I think the Spanish cover is so different from the rest. It seems more centered on the characters, rather than the plot.
      How is school coming along?
      From your librarian friend,
      Mrs. Hembree

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