Childrens FAVOURITE BOOKS 10-16 yr ish olds

[k8_doran]

Hello,

I wondered if anyone could help. I am doing a project designing front covers for a range of books aimed at 10-16 year old mainly girls but some boys. I wondered, anyone of this age (or knows anyone of this age):

what are their/your favourite books?

What makes a good front cover?

Many thanks

Kate

[saxy_jag]

The range of graphic styles on teenage book covers is huge, as I'm sure you're aware. I'm in my forties, but I (try to) write for this age group. I think what they look for is maybe something that reflects the theme and tone of the book, be that light and chatty or more serious and deep.

More than anything, teenagers need to be able to identify with the cover design. Check out Celia Reece's 'Pirates' and 'Witch Child'. Both covers depict very fetching young girls and are almost erotic in nature. I wonder if they would have sold so many copies had the pictures been of old hags and brawny women pirates. Would a girl read a Jacky Wilson, for example, if the book had a cover design, say, like that of a Catherine Cookson or a Penguin Classic? She mightn't even lift it off the shelf to look. On the other hand, a girl who wants to read something similar to Austen or Bronte isn't likely to be drawn to the cartoon designs that seem so popular just now (in fact, if you take a look at the covers on the latest Jane Austen editions, you'll see they've been given a very modern design. It wasn't popular with some of the industry, but the publishers have done it in an attempt to appeal to readers of more modern fiction).

You could do worse than ask your local secondary school or library if you could speak to some of the teens there. It is very relevant to the national curriculum in terms of both English and Art & Design. You'd probably be a welcome visitor.

[Kishimo]

I'm a 15 yr old girl and to answer your question I think it depends entirely on the actual book - as already said, there's a huge difference between a classic novel's cover, and modern, teenager-ish book (such as 'Face', one of my favourites by Benjamin Zephaniah).

The front cover should be created according to the content and the maturity of the book.

As for my favourite books, I've recently read The Da Vinci Code (and then Angels and Demons), Face, Bunny Suicides and The Catcher in the Rye and enjoyed them all.
A good front cover, to me, should be simple and to the point. We're living in modern times - stay away from old fashioned, classic images.

Just my opinions, good luck with your project ( =

[thehappyemo]

well im 18 now and i remember in my early teens reading a lot of jacqueline wilson(still!) and being drawn to that comical style drawing yet towards my years of being 15/16 i read books by cecilia rees and was drawn to fairly dark/arty/photographical style images. i hope this helps you a lot. good luck!