Scary Book Covers

Happy Halloween! And in honor of the holiday, a post on scary book covers.

A while ago, I read Our Only May Amelia, a book I loved with a cover I hated. Every time I saw the cover:



I wondered, "What the heck are you in such a sour mood about, Miss May Amelia?" This was not a picture of a girl I wanted to be friends with. Worse yet, the image didn't, for me, reflect the personality of the main character, who's tough and indignant, but not in a scared-to-meet-her-in-the-bathroom-of-a-dive mean.

I saw when they did the paperback version, they went with a much friendlier looking cover:



Neither cover is the kind to draw me, make me pick up a book, because I'm not much of a historical fiction person. But at least the second one doesn't scare me. And it's, to me, a more accurate reflection of May Amelia's personality.

Now, on to my own confession.

I write lots of work-for-hire books for the educational market. That means I usually have no say over the design, covers, images used, etc. The publishers are hoping to sell books, however, and usually have people working on these things that know lots more than I do about it, and I'm happy to bow to their expertise. I've had plenty of book covers I've liked just fine, over the years, including




However.

However.

I have had several covers I haven't liked recently, the kind that make me think, "What are you thinking?"

And without further ado, here's the latest:



Does anyone know a kid trapped in the 70s who might like to learn about scrapbooking?