Comments on: Teens Do Judge a Book by the Cover

By: Ciara

Ciara — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:28:36 +0000

Maybe I should start by saying I’m a fairly privileged white woman so I’m sure that affects my viewpoint.

I think it’s a shame that YA books with POC on the cover are not selling as well (let’s also remember that a large amount of adults are reading and buying YA, not just teens) and obviously in an ideal world we could have black models, or asian models or hispanic models on the covers and it wouldn’t change the circulation but I do think that getting rid of faces might be a good compromise for the time being. Or is it catering to our engrained racism? I’m going back and forth on this one. Though from a purely aesthetic point of view I’d like to see more illustrated covers and less faces/toned midriffs full stop!

By: Louise

Louise — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:02:10 +0000

I prefer covers without faces- I prefer the American covers to the British covers of the Hinger Games, for example. To be honest, I’ve never taken much notice of the race of the people. One of the last books I read had a black girl on the cover, and I didn’t even realise until I read this article. The cover was pretty and the blurb sounded good so I bought it. I don’t tend to notice the people on covers, I look at the overall effect (I’m a total pushover when it comes to shiny ones, I’ll admit).

But the whole thing about people (of any race) being embarrassed about being seen with a book with someone that isn’t white on the cover… I can’t say I’ve ever heard or seen that happening. Maybe things are different in the States (maybe even every country except Scotland, for all I know!). I don’t know of anybody in my school that would be remotely uncomfortable having a book with a Black, Asian, White, Native American, European or any other race of person on the cover.

By: Nadine Mathu

Nadine Mathu — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:48:04 +0000

As I recommend books to high school students, it is impossible NOT to seriously consider the cover representations. They are more than art; they have politics, economics, and marketing in mind. And these things either overtly or subliminally enter the minds of the books’ readers as well. An added note, if you are a librarian and a great classic book is not being read, it’s worth it to buy a new printing with a new cover. It matters!

By: Joe Cepeda

Joe Cepeda — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:29:57 +0000

I’m an illustrator (and author). Illustrating a book cover is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I’ve illustrated picture books and chapter books. However, so many times the life of a provocative idea gets sucked away all too many times. Marketing issues run the show and they don’t always coincide with a great editorial willingness to take chance. It’s always refreshing when an art director is given the freedom to explore solutions with an illustrator that may prove to result in a timeless cover. That solution may be abstract, conceptual, representational… with a face or without.

By: Ms. Yingling

Ms. Yingling — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:04:40 +0000

I find in my library that books with African Americans on the cover are checked out more when I display them cover out. I have many students who are comfortable asking me for books with African American characters, but they seem to enjoy finding the books on their own. The ethnicity of the reader doesn’t seem to matter. Pictures of people of color might affect the sales of books, but it doesn’t adversely affect whether or not the books are read in my library.

By: Ari

Ari — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:37:04 +0000

My friends don’t read much so I’m not sure if they have an opinion on it either way… I’ll ask them.

By: Greg Neri

Greg Neri — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:01:16 +0000

Interesting breakdown. I do like covers that leave more to the imagination. However in my own case, by spring of next year, 3 of my books will have featured closeups of black boys and one book, a white teen. Which will have sold the least? The one with the white teen. Go figure. But as a general approach, I think abstract is better. It also allows the reader to create their own version of the character, so even if the protagonist is white, they can be whatever color you dream up in your mind.