Let’s talk about book covers

That is, children’s book covers. From a particular year and edition, published under a specific imprint, set apart from all other variations.

Growing up with Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and Ladybird Classics box sets, the covers that made lasting impressions on me are mostly drawn from that collection. Such as the following:

• The Enchanted Wood (something about that Moon-face character that’s hard to erase from memory).
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (that black beast with his dripping fangs struck such terror in my young heart).
• Dracula (a diabolical monster emerging from a coffin and so casually).
• The Snow Queen (this was no Elsa; that icy stare and 80s perm sent chills down my spine).
• The Little Mermaid (nothing Disney about this cover; the wistful sea maiden and dusky evening sky spoke of a longing that couldn’t be fulfilled).
• Matilda (a girl sitting atop a wooden crate, surrounded by books—adorable ).
• The BFG (love how it isn’t immediately obvious that the man on the cover is a giant).
• Witches (The Grand High Witch, with her slim waist, long arms and curled claws, comes across menacing yet glamorous).
• Where the Wild Things are (the artwork speaks for itself: a cover like that doesn’t come by very often).
• Goodnight Moon (that stark green wall and those gaudy drapes; if not for the title, I wouldn’t have noticed the moon outside).

There are also children’s book covers that I’ve come to be attracted to as an adult, such as the Madeline series, The Giving Tree, and Where the Sidewalk Ends. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed from then till now is how I continue to judge a book by it’s cover—but then again, don’t we all?

So what are some of your favorite covers (children’s books or otherwise), and what do you love about them in particular?