Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?
Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe) and discuss cover changes.
(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)
What is that in the sky? A plane? A flying saucer? No. It’s a bird! A flock of them. Dear god.
When I went hunting for book covers with birds on it, I found a lot of them. Lots and lots of them. Almost an endless amount. I just thought, “man, designers sure do love putting birds on book covers.” It’s a common theme that I don’t see being retired any time soon. Just look at the different bird covers designers come up with!
THEME: Birds!
What do I like about each cover?
- In The Raven Boys, I love that the raven is painted and that you can see the brush strokes. And the details, eek! So pretty.
- In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I like that it’s illustrated. Look at that Phoenix! It’s up to something.
- In Where Things Come Back, I love the simplicity of this design. Teal background? Check. Bird silhouette? Check. Gorgeous typography? And check.
- In Cartwheel, I love the lines coming out of the birds. The lines look almost 3D when it’s across the author and title cards. Without the lines, there would only be a boring silhouette bird. And I love that the title and the author are in charcoal.
- In The Goldfinch, I love everything about this cover—the goldfinch painting (which was painted in 1654 by the Dutch painter Carel Fabritius (1622-54)), the goldfinch peeking through the torn paper, and the optical illusion of the torn paper. Just love.
- In Mink River, I love that the crow is wading in water. It’s quite an ominous image. It’s like it’s almost waiting for something to happen.
- In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I love the way the colors complement each other. It’s a classic.
- In A Box of Birds, I love the colors on the bird, and how the bird looks like it’s getting ready to fly off. And I am into that weird constellation-looking lines.
- In Summer and Bird, I love the off-white background and all the different birds framing the inside. It has a very vintage look because of it.
Best bird image? Definitely The Goldfinch.
My favorite would have to be The Raven Boys although I disliked the book. I love the brushstrokes and details of the birds! It looks so cool! I think my least favorite is Where Things Come Back because it’s just so plain.
My favorite of these nine is The Raven Boys, the painted look suits Maggie Stiefvater very well. It also reflects the book very well (I love The Raven Cylcle, BTW).
I’ve noticed eyes and dresses as cover trends, but I never thought much about birds. Now, I see bird covers everywhere: all three Hunger Games books, Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood, etc.
My favorite cover is Cartwheel! I also love the way the lines are coming out of the birds center.
The Raven Chronicles, of course has a raven on the cover.
I never realized how many covers had birds on them.