Wednesday 10 April 2013

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we like

We promised we'd try to give as many of the books on this year's Carnegie longlist a bit of 'coverage' (haha!). We reviewed quite a few of them but today we're looking at the covers that we liked the most. Just because we liked the covers doesn't always mean we liked the book or have even read it yet! Also, we never actually read any of them because of their covers!

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge
 
Cover for A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
 
M: It looks....magical (but not in a wandy sort of way). There's a lot of detail and mood creation which reflect the novel. There's something about this cover that I find mesmerising.


Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater
 
Cover for The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Little M: It's cool; there's the shadow of a horse with squiggles and swirls in a heart shape.
 

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat - Dave Shelton
 
Cover for A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton
 
Little M: This one's cool. It looks like it has a real tea stain and that something's drawn on it. It reflects the book: tea stain and the map.

M: It's clever and makes all of us laugh when it fools people. I also keep looking at little bits of it; I even hold it up and turn it around.

Illustrated by the author, A Boy And A Bear In A Boat recently won a Kitschies 2012 Inky Tentacle (an award for cover art among the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic).

Far Rockaway - Charlie Fletcher
 
Cover for Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher
 
M: I like the colours in the text and the swirls. It's an interesting cover.
 

Wonder - RJ Palacio
 
Cover for Wonder by RJ Palacio
 
Little M: The deformed face reflects the story.
M: I like the bold, contrasting colours and simple lines on a face that is clearly different. It stands out.
 

Unrest - Michelle Harrison
 
Cover for Unrest by Michelle Harrison
 
Little M: I like the burning words.
 
 
Jasmine Skies - Sita Brahmachari
 
Cover for Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari
 
M: I liked the colours in this cover. They're warm. I like the swirls, they're inviting. And there are lots of little bits of detail that suggest an interesting story.
 
Little M: I like the colours; it looks like the sun's setting. The border has got so much going on but it's fun to look at.

Soldier Dog - Sam Angus
 
Cover for Soldier Dog by Sam Angus
 
Little M: I like the shadow; it's mysterious and reflects the novel.
 
M: It's a sentimental cover. Similar to a Michael Morpurgo book: you just know you're going to sob.
 

The Seeing - Diana Hendry
 
Cover for The Seeing by Diana Hendry
 
Little M: It's creepy and ghostly; it looks interesting.
 
M: The boy's face reminds me of Harry Potter (although the book is nothing like that really).
 


The Brides of Rollrock Island - Margo Lanagan
 
Cover for The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan
 
M: I like the pastel colours; atmosheric (although the draped woman is a bit unsettling).
 
 
The Broken Road - BR Collins
 
 
M: Like The Brides of Rollrock Island, I like the pastel colours; looks interesting and appealing and makes me think of something hidden and faraway.


After the Snow - SD Crockett
 
Cover for After the Snow by SD Crockett
 
M: It's bold and I like how the illustration looks like it's printed on canvas (but isn't).
 

Call Down Thunder - Daniel Finn
 
Cover for Call Down Thunder by Daniel Finn
 
M: The colours are inviting: oranges, yellows, reds. It also looks like it's on textured canvas (but it's not). and I like the little shadows of running characters.
 

The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
 
Cover for The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
 
Little M: I like the texture of it.
 
M: I like the small size, the matt texture and the blue text inside (okay, that last bit's not the cover!).
 
 
Sektion 20 - Paul Dowswell
 
Cover for Sektion 20 by Paul Dowswell
 
All three of us (M, Little M and Daddy Cool) thought this was a good cover that looked interesting.

PS. We liked some more covers on the longlist but we're saving those for a slightly different post :)
 
 
*****
 
Next time, covers we weren't so keen on.





1 comment:

  1. This has just reminded me that I need to read Jasmine Skies soon. I read Artichoke Hearts in September 2011 and so will really need to refresh my memory before picking up the sequel.

    I also have The Scorpio Races on my TBR pile so I'll have to get around to that soon.

    The cover of A Boy and a Bear in a Boat is really good and, if I were to own it I would doubtless show it to everyone I meet.

    Lovely post!

    ReplyDelete

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