Judging Covers (and Other Illustrations)

I briefly mentioned this book in class, but I feel like my telling of it doesn't do it justice. The cover of "Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone" by Juli Berwald is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. I remember first seeing the book on a Snapchat story highlighting some of the best reads for the year and screen shotting the cover to find it later. Months passed into years, and I would see "Spineless" at every Barnes & Noble, but wouldn't have the funds, motivation, or time to buy it and read it. Still, I was drawn in by the vibrant pink and blue contrast and one February I decided to pull the trigger and pick up the damn book. The cover is inspired Ernst Haeckel's jellyfish painting (which I will display both his art and the cover side by side for comparison.)

 Another book that I've mentioned in class is my favorite book, Daniel Handler's "Why We Broke Up." Though the story is undoubtedly what hooked me, the simple art done by Maira Kalman was the cherry on top which brought this book to the top of my list. I guess I didn't explain enough of the plot in class either, so here's a brief summary: Min and Ed are both in high school in completely opposite social circles. It's a typical story of boy meets girl – the pair meets after one of Ed's lost basketball games in the backyard of Min's best friend's bittersweet 16th birthday party. However, after the pair split, Min writes Ed a letter and slips it into a box along with relationship memorabilia that she will then drop onto his doorstep. Among some of these things are two bottle caps, a box of matches, and a protractor. The cover in itself is pretty basic, but admirable all the same. I own the left copy, but I would argue the right copy's cover is more appropriate for the novel as a whole. The rose petals are those littered at the bottom of the box that Min leaves for Ed (and also hint at the location of their relationship's demise). (Spoiler: It's at a floral shop.)

As Min describes each item and the memory linked to it, Maira Kalman provides the images. Below are a couple of my favorites. The Scarpia's Bitter Ale bottle caps are the starting point for Min and Ed though Min doesn't drink beer and just pours it out behind her back. The second image is a crumpled up note, which upon first reading it, I'm not going to lie, made my heart melt. Right before the reader sees this image, Min describes finding an origami-type thing in her locker then the reader continues on to find this painting sprawled across two pages. If you're looking a good cover with even better illustrations inside, again I would recommend "Why We Broke Up." (And I would look up Maira Kalman's other work, too!)