Top Ten Tuesday: Cover Re-Jackets

For today’s Top Ten Tuesday we’re having a look at interesting, not so good, great, dramatic and subtle hardback to paperback re-jackets. Re-jacketings? Either way:

Sara: The cover change that most surprised me: A Boy and a Bear In a Boat. Whoa.

Whoa indeed. Dave Shelton has a nice bold style, and his illustrations are within both editions, but the approaches to these two covers are literally miles apart. The PowerPointy typography of the paperback is not doing it any favours but clearly the paperback will draw in readers that would never have even noticed the hardback. Which might be why the hardback could afford be quite so bold.

[Correction/edit/update]
The esteemed Dave Shelton himself pointed out that the paperback version we posted above is the US version. The UK version is this:

And here’s a bit more from Dave:

@becca_langton @HotKeyBooks On the one hand I wish I'd fought for the pb retaining the hb jacket …

— Dave Shelton (@DaveShelton) May 20, 2014

@becca_langton @HotKeyBooks … On the other hand it was amazing that they let me do that hb cover in the first place.

— Dave Shelton (@DaveShelton) May 20, 2014

@DaveShelton It still works! Just in a different context. I'd have the 1st one as a print on my wall, and I'd give the 2nd to a 7 yr old!

— Becca Langton (@becca_langton) May 20, 2014

Cait: There’s something about CATCH 22 that is absolutely iconic – no matter how many different colour ways they stick on the paperback jacket I can always spot it a mile off in bookshops. That’s not to say it’s an exciting design though – here’s the very grey edition I first owned:

But then the Folio Society got their hands on it and created this beautiful hardback edition – look at the lustrous endpapers!

From Emma M, we have another interesting re-jacket, in that the cover per se barely changes: It’s all in the colours and execution, and goes to show how small changes can transform a lot.

Despite the original Rooftoppers being a little wonky in execution – the blackness of the characters is a bit jarring – I still prefer it to the paperback’s mass market feel and colour scheme.

Next Matilda gives us this funny comparison, between the recent US edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a UK version from a few years back:

To be fair, this US cover is from Penguin’s deluxe series of prominent graphic novelist’s re-jacketing kids’ classics in their signature styles (here by not always kids friendly Ivan Brunetti). That said, I’m not to sure we can expect anything similar our side of the water any time soon, this UK cover perhaps proving that point. Though I hope I’m wrong!

Kate: Ok, so slight cheat as the paperback originally came out with the hardback cover, and was then re-jacketed as everyone either loved it or hated it. I’m in the former camp. I love the hardback jacket, it completely sums up the feel of the book to me. If you haven’t read any Jenny yet, please do or we can no longer be friends.

Sorry, Kate, but not having read any Jenny, I’ll have to pick up the latter to save our friendship. It might not sum up the book, but I wouldn’t have to explain to other friends why it’s on my book shelf either.

Rosi: I loved the first Charlie Higson zombie book when it came in… Ooh the FOIL… The SPRAYED EDGES… The EMBOSSING… I literally only read it because it looked so cool, and now I’m addicted to them. I can’t say I loved the way the paperback went but I appreciated that it was more commercial and made the hardbacks more special. Although they seem to have done a whole new cover look which I REALLY like…

Livs: Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothee de Fombelle (who by the way is doing an event with our very own Lydia Syson on 5th June…) because clever Walker didn’t change much at all, except adding some well-deserved accolades and jazzy quotes (and the format obviously) which is BRILLIANT because the cover is perfect – so eye catching, so gorgeous and truly compliments the entire tone and plot of the book. I love it. What’s more, the paperback is almost half the price of the hardback (£14.99 and £7.99) but is still as desirable an object (almost anyway – I love a hardback).

Livs, let me know if the paperback is printed on uncoated stock. I’m getting this just for the cover if so. Although that award blurb..!

That’s it for today, and to round it off, here’s a sneak peak at our very own paperback cover of Edward Carey’s Heap House!

Let us know your thoughts on this and other re-jackets! Heap House will be out in paperback on August 7th (along with the hardback of it’s twisted sequel Foulsham).