Don’t judge a book by it’s cover?
From Laura Alston
I’ve been thinking about this phrase a lot recently. It’s often said as a reminder not to assume you understand a person because of what they look like. But this week I have been looking at lots of book covers and I have come to the conclusion that books are not people. It is ok to judge an actual book by it’s cover. There are many professions that go into creating it (illustrator, graphic designer, editor, author). It is not a complex, individual, beautifully original human.
I was privileged to go through and enjoy all of the reimagined book covers created by the learners at Greenhill Primary School for World Book Day 2022 and borrow some to display in the children’s section. So my job this week was to literally judge book covers. I wish I had enough space to put all of them up, but instead I chose ones which were the most creative and different to their original, were completed with obvious commitment and care as well as ones which made me excited to read the book.
In particular, I loved the Elmer the elephant covers- they were so joyful and colourful and reminded me how many different Elmer stories there are. I was emotionally moved by many of the drawings but in particular a drawing by a student in EYFS who had clearly worked in a team with a member of staff and concentrated so hard in completing their part to produce a lovely cover. But I was truly moved by many of the drawings which gave a clue to the story. In particular The Ironman covers reminded me of a book I haven’t read for a very long time (I am quite old) and transported me back to some memories of being in primary school myself and living in the world of that book when I read the pages.
