Okay, so there is an old saying that declares that “you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.” In fact, it is such a popular saying that I am willing to bet 10 candy bars that you have heard of it before. Why is this saying so common? I think it is because there happens to be a lot of truth to it. The cover on the outside of a book isn’t the story or the “meat” of what makes the book the book. A cover can promise all sorts of magic and wonder with a fantastic illustration only to create disappointment at a bland interior, or the other way around.
Despite my belief in this saying, I still find myself judging a book by its cover from time to time. Why? Because it is the first thing that you see on a book and what you have to draw your conclusion from on whether or not you want to take it home to give it a go. Well, that and the title and summary of course. Therefore, I fall subject to this trap all to often. I’ll be at the library and I’ll pick up numerous books and with an occasional pang of guilt I will take home the ones with attractive covers and re-shelve the others. It’s a habit that I am trying to break when it comes to novels.
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However, when it comes to picture books I almost never feel guilty when I find myself judging the book by the cover, and for a very good reason. (At least a reason that I feel is very good.) In picture books the pictures are half of the story! Seriously! Have you ever noticed how much of the story is told in a picture book through the illustrations alone? In fact, if you pay attention you may often find that a large portion of the story isn’t mentioned in the text at all, but you are meant to infer it from the illustrations themselves. Don’t believe me? Head to your library and check out a book like “Before Morning” by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes or “Life on Mars” by Jon Agee, or a million others that I could mention. In these stories arguably the majority of the plot is told throughout the illustrations and not the text. It’s really quite fascinating. Then there are wordless picture books where the entire story is told through the illustrations. Mind blown right?!
That is why I often judge a picture book by the cover. Illustrations play a critical role in picture books and when they are done well it is quite magical. Now, when I say I judge the picture book by the cover, what criteria am I using to “judge”? Well, it is really quite simple. I look for a cover illustration that is eye catching, attractive, and supports the title in what the book will be about. That’s it. The illustrations can be any kind of style really and the title can be about anything in the world. (Also, I keep in mind that there doesn’t even need to be an illustration. Take “The Book With No Pictures” by B.J. Novak for example, it is a picture-less picture book and it is one of my favorites!)
I know what your thinking. Your thinking “But Clarissa, that can be any picture book!” And your right! I’m not saying I judge the books in the sense that I give them a grade for their worth. That is just plain old ridiculous. Every picture book can appeal to completely different people and even if two people love the same picture book, they can have a totally different perspective of it. Thats the wonder of picture books.
Basically all I’m saying is that if you love the cover of a picture book, chances are pretty good that you will love the rest and if you don’t love the cover, well, then chances are lower that you will love the rest. That’s all, it’s not much, but it’s enough to keep me from feeling horrible guilty. Have I ever passed by on a book because of it’s cover only to find out later that I loved it? Yes! More than once too. Take “Pig the Pug” by Aaron Blabey for example, I wasn’t so sure about that pug on the cover, but when I finally read it I thought it was just about the greatest book ever. I don’t think this is a perfect system, but in a world where hundreds of new picture books are released every month I don’t shy away from my “cover scanning skills” to help me sort through them all.
This is simply my theory, it’s not fact or the only way of looking at things. Do you agree with this philosophy? Do you disagree? Am I all alone in my habits of “cover judging”? Share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear!
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