Judging the Cover of a Book

John Merrow Op-ed

“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” it’s often said, but can you and will you be the judge for the cover for my new book? A short time ago I asked students at two California schools, Palo Alto High School and Castilleja, to help create the cover for my new book, Below C Level: Why It Pays to be Average in Public Education (and what WE can do about it).

The students submitted dozens of possibilities, and I have selected three finalists—for your consideration. Understand that these are drafts and can be changed, so I am NOT asking for an up-or-down vote but for your preference AND your suggestions as to how to improve the eventual winner.

Here they are. Please submit your vote and suggestions to the blog itself, so we can post your views. I ask you to remember that the designers are high school students who have put a lot of time and energy into this. They’re in the game, and they know they might not be chosen, but they deserve credit for their efforts, not snarky comments.

I am publishing the book on Amazon, meaning that there’s only one way to buy it—and it should be available for purchase in less than a month.

I’m donating a sizable portion of the royalties to Learning Matters, so, when you buy it, you will be supporting our in-depth coverage of education.

As for the book itself, here’s a snippet from the preface:

Schools are at the proverbial crossroads. Think of it this way: Just a few years ago, children went to schools (and libraries) to have access to knowledge, but today knowledge is everywhere, thanks to technology and the Internet. So why should kids go to school?

Just a few years ago, children went to school to socialize and be socialized, but today there’s an app for that! Kids have Facebook, Farmville, Myspace, Twitter and other powerful social media, so why should kids go to school?

I am asking the question, “Is School Obsolete?” And my answer is, essentially, “No, but…..”
As I will argue, many adults want schools to keep an eye on their kids and keep them safe. Those are not good enough reasons from a youth’s perspective, and so effective schools will teach young people how to evaluate knowledge, how to separate the wheat from the chaff—and how to choose the wheat. Yes, schools must teach values!

Good teachers will be like musical conductors, but the music won’t be classical. It will be jazz, full of riffs and tangents, and changing from performance to performance. Teaching will be tougher but infinitely more rewarding in these schools–if we are smart enough to build them.

Thanks for participating in this competition. I look forward to reading your ideas.

Below C Level Cover Contest

Cast your vote in the comments! We’ll be tallying the scores and sharing the results next week.

185 thoughts on “Judging the Cover of a Book”

  1. I liked the fish-hook cover that I saw before, but since that seems to be off the table, I’m sticking with a previous vote for #3. It’s attention grabbling.

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  4. #3. The wonderful scrunched paper with a poor grade embodies our guilt while hoping to make it disappear in a ball.
    “See me” says it all. Congratulations!

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  7. My vote is for #3, of course! The topic is education & grades, etc. #3 is eye-catching and makes you want to read the book. “C” here is definitely about the subject. I’ll buy the book when I see #3 cover on it.

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  8. A split vote by two of us for numbers 2 and 3. But we both have problems with the subtitle, don’t understand it. The “Why it pays” makes it sound like being average might somehow be a good thing, in a surprising way. “Who Gets Paid to Be Average” or something like that might clarify the message.

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  9. I like #3. Draws you in and makes you want to read the book. The childish scrawl
    which adds texture and the dreaded “See me” are ingenious. Kudos to the young artist for going out of his/her box.

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  13. #3 is definitely the way to go (although #2 is visually catching and clever).#1 doesn’t appeal to mass audience.
    Awesome to use kids work!

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  15. At first glance, #3 – it engaged both my sympathies with the student, and my eye. On second look, #2 is very compelling and raises questions – it has mystery. It also showcases the author’s name more powerfully. I like it’s crisp, clean presentation.
    I like both – but return to #2…

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  17. Love #2–great visual image. As another commenter noted, this is what would catch my attention in a display or table of books–and it also conveys the notion of school being adrift (brings to mind the opening of “A Nation At Risk” and the “rising tide of mediocrity” as well. My second choice would be #3.

    I’m not fond of the font for the title and subtitle in #2, and the font for your name and subtitle in #3–I would still advise revisiting those.

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  25. #3, #2, then #1. Initially for aesthetics I picked 2 but with further thought #3 is more applicable, takes a bigger risk with the design and therefore stands out. The pun is cute for number 2 but detracts from the subject. #1 is banal, the colors too political and looks like a free federal pamphlett – which also means I wouldn’t want to read it.

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  26. I’d use #3 for the cover, but I’d find a way to put the other two on the endpaper in the front of the book so that I could point out that all three great covers were designed by students, proof that we still have kids with imagination and ability.

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  29. I have a strong hunch that all three designers are reading these comments and will send me their modified designs. Maybe we should put the new, revised versions up for your perusal. Or maybe Amazon will let me publish the book with a choice of covers??!!
    Thanks to all of you for getting involved with this.
    John

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  34. I like #2, John. School desk and the obvious C / sea play. Could you make the desk “float” a little cockeyed to hint at how the school desk (and therefore education) could be a little BELOW C
    level–the desk kind of rocking in the churning water–a lot like education. Great idea to have kids design them for you.

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  37. Book jackets are powerful things! They often create the context in which we read.

    If I were browsing in the bookstore and saw #1, I’d presume that it was a serious slightly wonky book that had a lot of data and address the current state of education with detached objectivity.

    If I saw #3, I’d pick it up because it’s so engaging and elicits an emotional response. If I judged the book by its cover I would assume it draws heavily on personal anecdotes, an over the shoulder perspective of how it has been and probably a negative stance about school.

    Because of the incongruity of the image, I’d notice #2, wonder about it, and be more likely to take it home. I see the single traditional desk as a metaphor of an inadequate vessel for the journey through changing tides in the ocean of information toward a new horizon. But then I’m a teacher.

    Your excerpt begins with, “Is School Obsolete?” And my answer is, essentially, “No, but……” If that’s going to be your hook, and sense we are a bit “at sea” about where public schools are headed, #2 seems to be the best match.

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  38. Thanks for asking us to vote. These kids are really creative!. Deciding on one wasn’t easy. I like #2 the best, but would suggest a slight change to the school chair. It would have an even more powerful impact if the chair was a sinking ship. #3 is great, but if I were browsing in Amazon, not knowing what the book is about, it would not catch my eye. I enjoyed the graphics of #1. My final vote is #2.

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  40. John- What a wodnerful experience – working with these talented young people to design this. I fel like we are working with them too – which is good!

    I agree with the majority that #3 is the best, although the professionalism and colors of #1 is very attractive and #2 has a ot of metaphorical value ( maybe too tranquil for the emergency you are describing, tho)

    Two suggestions about my favorite, #3: 1) make the paper look a little more like looseleaf, with margin line and pale blue lines – this will break up the white, which is a little glaring… and 2) change the font on your name and the subtitle too harsh and complex, all caps is hard to read) and tighten up the title so we can see the 3 words as a whole.

    I love the double meaning of “see me” – the typical teacher’s comment and a plea from children that their situation not be invisible to adults.

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  43. John –

    You can’t lose with any.

    I vote for #2. I “like” it best, and am impressed with how many people indicate they struggle to grasp it – if shoppers get that engaged with the ‘grapple’ you’ve got a better chance for a sale…

    Hi Kelsey & Josh…

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  44. I like #1 – the white line going down is effectively disturbing, the red pen looks just like that C you once earned, and I think it is odd to have your name so big – like the others.

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  45. Wonderful project! My vote would have to be for #3–it’s definitely the one that caught my eye. But I also really liked the clean lines of #1. Tough choice!

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  48. Mieke and I both vote for #3, although they all have good elements. Its hand-written look draws you to it, and sets it apart from the way most book covers are designed.

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