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Sally Murphy, Australian author

Worse Things: The Cover Story

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As part of recent Readalong, I reflected  about each of the covers of my three previous verse novels: Pearl Verses the World had had two different covers, and two different titles, for different editions; Toppling had had three covers and two titles, and Roses are Blue just the one cover.  Additionally, there was branding. As you can see from the three Australian covers, whilst there’s not a series, the cover design links them to me, the author,and to the style of the book, all verse novels.

Pearl Verses the World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always loved these covers, and the branding part was exciting to me, because it felt like the brand was ‘Sally Murphy’ – even though of course there is a lot more to it than that. I felt that the cover design was a perfect match for the illustration style and for the form and content of the books. And feedback from readers young and old matched that. My post about the Pearl Verses the World cover, especially, drew dozens of comments here and on Facebook and Instagram.

However, the cover of my fourth verse novel, Worse Things is different. Very different.

Everything is different – the colour pallet, the font, the and the illustration style, too. The illustrations take up the whole cover, with the title part of the illustration. But guess what? I love it just as much as I loved those other covers.  Why? Because I think it’s perfect for this book. And I think Sarah Davis is a genius.

Although still a verse novel, and having some similarities in style and even themes, Worse Things is a bit of a break away from the earlier ones. The age of the characters is slightly older than the characters in the earlier books, meaning it is likely to be enjoyed by slightly older readers – although I think readers who enjoy the first three will also connect with the fourth, and vice-versa.

Worse Things is also a multi voice novel, with three characters telling the story, and I love the  way Sarah has captured key elements of each character’s life and their story, and used them on the cover. Readers will hopefully come back, after they’ve read the book, and be able to see why those images are there.

I’d love to hear what you think about this new cover. If you haven’t read the book, what do you think is suggested by the images?  You can comment here, or on Instagram or Facebook.

And, if you’d like to get better acquainted with the cover, I turned it into a digital puzzle for you to have a go at! You’ll find that here.

 

Readalong Post #8: A Trio of Toppling Covers

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Last week, as part of my Readalong, I posted about the two different covers – and titles – that Pearl Verses the World had when it was published in Australia and the UK. That topic drew a lot of reaction, with comments on my own Facebook page being universally in favour of the Australian cover, but the dozens of comments on the SCBWI West page more divided, though still mostly in favour of the Australian one.

This week, I thought it might be fun to repeat the process by looking at the covers for Toppling which had not two, but three different covers – in Australia, the USA and the UK where, again, the title was also changed.

First, the Australian cover:

I love Rhian Nest James’ illustrations and the cleverness of having John and his four friends balanced (precariously, in Dominic’s case) on top of the domino. Readers who know the story will also pick out Ky looking up, and Lily and Miss Timms to the left. Very clever, right down to the choice of the number of dots on the domino.  Another thing I love is the way the Walker Australia team designed the cover so that, while it’s different than Pearl Verses the World, its design links my two books visually.

But, when the book was published in the US, Candlewick decided to change the cover:

 

Although they kept the font and colour palette, you can see that the illustration is new, commissioned for this edition.  It’s a lot simpler – the focus is squarely on John, the viewpoint character, and his connection with dominoes, as well as the challenges he is facing keeping everything in order.

Lastly, Walker UK created a very different cover. Having change the title of Pearl Verses the World to simply Pearl, it was felt that the books would be better linked if names were also used in the title of this book. So, Toppling became John and Dom, and the cover  used a similar design to the one for Pearl:

Everything is different than the Australian and US covers: the font, the illustrations, the colours and layout, and there’s the addition of a tag line.  There’s not a domino in sight either. I do like this image, but I must confess I mourned the loss of the title, and the dominoes. although of course they are featured in the story, which remained unchanged.

So, three covers, two titles. I’ll admit the Australian version is my favourite – but I’m curious to know which you prefer? Leave a comment, if you like.

Author Copies

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My postman had a surprise for me today – a parcel of books with my name on the front covers. These were three titles which I wrote for Mimosa/McGraw Hill Australia a couple of years ago and which have finally made it into print.

Over the Fence is realistic fiction story about two children who engage in a clean up of the creek next door to their house.

Remember Me is a historical fiction story, written in diary format from the perspective of a young child aboard the Mayflower.

Finally, Sonoran Desert Animals is a nonfiction title about , as the title suggests, the animals found in the Sonoran Desert.

All three titles have been published as part of the new Macmillan/McGraw Hill levelled reading program, available only the United States. It’s fun to think that kids on the other side of the world will be reading books which were written by me all the way over here in Australia. And, for me, it’s always nice to see a project completed and to hold the finished product in my hands.

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