A Comparison of Teen Book Covers of 2011
Visit this
site to see one author’s compilation of book covers. As stated at the beginning of the post, the complier notes this is not a scientific study, just a look by an individual at the titles published as “young adult” in 2011. It is frustrating to see such a discrepancy between the book covers and the ethnicity of the United States. Clearly we have a very long way to go to represent all teens in the books they read, and on the covers of those books.
She examines several topics in her post, starting with the colors on the cover, then moving to minority representation on the covers. Beyond that she notes that 20% of “YA covers featured a model whose head was mostly/completely missing.” (Personally, I hope this trend is about over.) And maybe the most alarming: “6.6% of 2011 YA covers featured characters who appeared to be dead or dying.” Book covers have always been interesting to me and it was enlightening to visit this web site for the compilations of cover types.
I recently finished
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin (and it made me hungry). Pacy Lin, the middle child, dreads the idea of spending a month visiting relatives she doesn’t know in Taiwan for her grandma’s birthday. But she and her sisters, Lissy and Ki-Ki, are soon on the plane with their parents. Culture shock slowly gives way to enjoyment of her relatives and the many different things to do in this new place, and a love of dumplings. A celebration of family, customs, home, and acceptance.
(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
