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Recovering the Classics

While I was at ALA, I heard rumors of a horrible Anne of Green Gables covers that was making Anne fans angry all over the internet. And then I found it:


Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books and this cover might be the worst cover in the world. Everyone knows that Anne is a redhead NOT blonde. And what's with the "Hey, Gilbert, I'm suddenly sexy farm girl Anne" look that she has going on? Plus it's way too modern looking! I'm sorry-Anne would not wear that shirt. She wants puff sleeves!!

Anyway, as I was fuming over the horrible Anne cover, it got me thinking about recovering classics. Some work well and others not so much.

Matilda is getting an anniversary reissue this year and I have to say I like the new cover:

 
It reminds me of A Wrinkle In Time anniversary reissue which I also liked:
 
 
Another anniversary occuring this year is Amelia Bedelia. While she doesn't have a cover reissue exactly, she has a spinoff chapter book series that takes a new approach to the covers:
 
 
It's cute and updated but still feels like the original Amelia I grew up with.
 
Another childhood favorite of mine, Pippi Longstocking, is getting a new cover this year:
 
 
I'm not sure what I think of this one. It's cute but almost seems a bit too understated for Pippi.
 
What do you think of these reissues? Any other classic recoverings you've seen recently? Are they good or bad?
 

Comments

  1. Agree with you on the Anne of Green Gables cover. Seeing the Amelia Bedelia cover makes me want to laugh. I could never get through reading one of those books to my daughter without laughing. Thanks for sharing these.

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  2. OMG on the Anne cover-have they even read the books? The #1 thing I knew about Anne (before reading the books) was that she had red hair. Get a model with red hair on the cover and it improves a lot although she should also have a different facial expression; I'll let her keep that shirt IF she has red hair.

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  3. I agree with Bookworm. Red hair and Anne. Did the cover artists even read the book? Did anyone there read the book? While the Amelia Bedelia cover is attractive, what does it have to do with AB being a maid? She's a maid, isn't she? It has been a long time since I've read them. The others - meh.

    brenda

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  4. I just saw that Anne cover too. Talk about a disconnect between a character and some hack's idea of what would draw in readers (wanna bet it's a guy ;->). The Pippi cover will definitely make it sit on shelves. Steam-punky, yes...but she isn't. Sometimes I think people are impressed with an artist or design concept but forget who is at the end of the process -kid readers. Chefs talk about making food appealing to the eye AND the palette. This is the same concept (I feel a blog post coming on!).

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  5. The new cover for The Bell Jar is horrific and such a mis-representation of the novel.

    http://jezebel.com/5978457/the-bell-jar-gets-a-hideous-makeover/gallery/1

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  6. I received an ARC of the new Amelia Bedelia chapter book, and I was disappointed. She's a child in the new ones, rather than an adult maid, and the silliness of the original series is totally lost in the chapter book format. The cover is cute, but the overall update doesn't work for me.

    The Matilda and Pippi covers are eye-catching, but blonde Anne of Green Gables was a poor choice!

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  7. Wow. I'm appalled at that Anne of Green Gables cover. For goodness sake! She has red hair! The cover doesn't fit her character at all!

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  8. I was going to point you towards this new cover for "The Bell Jar" but I see that someone beat me to it! :)

    I also heard about that Anne cover this week, but some people have pointed out that it's a self-published book.

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  9. Wow! I can't think of a worse cover for Anne. Crazy!

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  10. The only thing that would make that Anne cover worse is if they pinned an American flag on her!

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