Book cover analysis Year 9 writing task Pupil booklet Assessing pupils progress in English at Key Stage 3
Task You have to design a book cover for a text you have recently read in class. To help you prepare for this, analyse the cover of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. Consider how effective it is in persuading a teenage audience to buy and/or read the novel and decide whether to use similar ideas in designing your book cover. 2 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in Crown copyright 2006
Image reproduced by kind permission of the publisher Egmont 2001 Book cover for The Wind Singer Crown copyright 2006 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in 3
Table for analysing The Wind Singer book cover Point Unusual persuasion Evidence Explanation Mysterious persuasion Familiar to teenagers persuasion Other people s opinions persuasion Summary information 4 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in Crown copyright 2006
Pupil s analysis of The Wind Singer book cover The book cover that I picked as an example to persuade the audience to buy or read the book is The Wind Singer by William Nicholson. The reason I have picked this is because it was particularly successful in encouraging me to read the book and providing detail about the book and its content. The first impression the book cover gives is one that the style is unusual. It appears to be covered in sand, with a half-buried symbol made from metal in the shape of an S. The effect of this on the audience is that it gives the impression that the setting might not be on Earth or in our time and that there is an element of something being hidden. This is further supported by the summary on the back, which uses unusual names and hints that exams are far more important than they are now. This is standard in fantasy and science-fiction, which will attract the audience that is familiar with these genres. The second aspect of the book cover that is persuasive to a young audience is that there is a sense of mystery about the book. We are given hints that things are not clear. In the illustration, the symbol is half hidden, which adds to the sense of mystery. The synopsis offers detail which leaves the audience feeling that there is something that needs explaining. In the sentence, When Kestrel dares to rebel, the Chief Examiner humiliates her father and sentences the whole family to the harshest punishment we are left wondering what rebellion took place and what the punishment could have been. As a result, this makes the reader want to read the book to find out. The cover is particularly designed to attract the attention of teenagers, with the quotation at the top of the synopsis selected purposefully to help the audience identify with the character. This has the effect of making the reader empathise with the character and feel as though it would be a good story to read. In addition, in the quotations, references are made to teenage books and films, i.e. Star Wars and Harry Potter. An audience that enjoys these books will be more likely to choose this book, therefore, knowing it has been compared to them. There is a sticker printed on the cover, showing that the book won an award that was particularly for young people. This is persuading the reader that the book is thought to be of high quality and will encourage people to select it, especially if it is an adult buying it for a young audience as a present or to study in class. This is a very important aspect of publishing. In conclusion, I believe that this style of book cover is very successful. The image portrays an unusual setting, with the content suggesting the topic of the book is one of a search and a journey. To make this more attractive and persuasive, they have added touches of mystery in the synopsis. It makes readers imagine and predict and therefore is very successful in attracting a certain audience, who might like the genre. I therefore think that using these ideas would be beneficial in the book cover that I shall be creating on the book I have chosen. Crown copyright 2006 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in 5
Features checklist Features Included Clear overall structure: introduction analytical paragraphs conclusion (which refers back to the introduction) Paragraphs include: point evidence explanation Connectives are used across the piece: to show how the points made within a paragraph are related to each other to link paragraphs The audience and purpose of the analysis is clear 6 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in Crown copyright 2006
Image reproduced by kind permission of Random House Group The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon published by Red Fox Books 2004 Book cover for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Crown copyright 2006 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in 7
Table for analysing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Point Evidence Explanation 8 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in Crown copyright 2006
Please write your analysis here Crown copyright 2006 Secondary National Strategy Assessing pupils progress in 9