SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Pearl's & Ruby's
  • Politics in Practice
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

March 8, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Cover Curiosity: Cons-istantly Covered

March 8, 2011 by Travis Jonker   15 comments

It almost feels redundant to mention it, but Converse All-Stars are about the biggest thing going in middle grade/YA cover trends right now. It makes sense – they’re so uniquely versatile, with the ability to span generations and look hip at every stop. Let’s spy some recent examples:

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean

(Thanks to Vicki K. for the tip)

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

(Thanks to Kelly at Crossover for the tip)

Al Capone Shines My Shoes (UK edition) by Gennifer Choldenko

(Thanks to A Fuse #8 Production for the tip)

Rules to Rock By by Josh Farrar

(Thanks to desirous of everything at the same time for the tip)

The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone

Tales of a Madman Underground by John Barnes

The Wednesday Wars (paperback edition) by Gary D. Schmidt

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Love and Other Things I’m Bad At by Catherine Clark

They Come From Below by Blake Nelson

Totally Joe by James Howe

I’m sure I missed a few here – any to add?

Filed under: Cover Curiosity, Covers

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Reel Wish by Yamile Saied Méndez

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Paw & Order: The Grilled Cheese Caper | Review

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

Nine More Titles: May Mock Newbery 2026 Suggestion Titles

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Politics in Practice

When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?

by John Chrastka

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Boost teen reading with digital comics – start with these 5 recs! (Sponsored)

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Yarn

Pably Cartaya visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

LGBTQIA+: Publishers Prioritize Stories Over Politics

SPONSORED

Gone Fishing and Other Watery Tales | Picture Book Spotlight

School's Out! 3 Middle Grade Novels about Vacation | Spotlight

25 Middle Grade Titles for Pride Month and Beyond

Author A. A. Vacharat on YA Debut ‘This Moth Saw Brightness’ | 5 Questions and a Rec

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fuse #8 says

    March 8, 2011 at 8:02 am

    Try the British edition of “Al Capone Shines My Shoes”. The American cover had the decency to show shoes that could be shined. The one in the UK? See for yourself: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Capone-Shines-My-Shoes/dp/1408801558/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299589326&sr=1-1

    • Travis says

      March 8, 2011 at 8:28 am

      Ha! Unbelievable. I’ll add this to the post.

  2. Sarah says

    March 8, 2011 at 9:21 am

    Rules to Rock By by Josh Farrar!
    http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780802720795

  3. Jim Randolph says

    March 8, 2011 at 12:48 pm

    Love me some Converse. Saw a guy the other day wearing Dr. Seuss Converse! Gotta get me some of those…

  4. Fuse #8 says

    March 8, 2011 at 10:15 pm

    Would Schmidt’s “Okay for Now” count? It shoes the whole body, not just legs and feet. Too much?

    • Travis says

      March 8, 2011 at 10:32 pm

      Count it! Actually, this cover will be in my next Cover Curiosity post. Can you guess the trend?

  5. Leslie says

    March 8, 2011 at 11:02 pm

    Love that cover of Wednesday Wars, waaaay better than the original hardcover.

  6. Vicki Kouchnerkavich says

    March 9, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    I know this is a picture books, but how about Pete The Cat: I love my white shoes?

    • Travis says

      March 9, 2011 at 5:49 pm

      Hey Vicki! Thanks for stopping by. And right you are – Pete the Cat definitely fits. I’ll add it to the post.

  7. Brenda Kahn says

    March 10, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    Where did that cover of Where the Streets Had a Name come from? That’s not the cover on my copy! Also, did the pix for it come from the same photo shoot as Romeo and Juliet Code?

    bk

    • Travis says

      March 12, 2011 at 8:46 am

      Ha – sometimes you do find different images from the same shoot on different covers. Pop Culture Junkie one here. The Streets cover is just the one that comes up on an amazon search.

  8. Jess says

    March 15, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    What about Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson? I thought of it when I saw the cover for They Came From Below (eerily similar).

  9. April Henry says

    February 24, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    Ooh, I love me some cover wars. And you beat me to this one, because I was just thinking about blogging about it.

    How about The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani

    and

    The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne?

    I blog about dueling covers sometimes: http://aprilhenry.livejournal.com/tag/dueling%20covers

  10. Brenda Kahn says

    February 25, 2012 at 6:38 am

    So, April, I followed you over here from my Cover Coincidence post to see which titles you were adding and looked them up. Good ones! And! In the good old, “Customers who ordered…” list was yet another Converse inspired cover – The Last of the Gullivers by Carter Crocker.

    btw, Travis, add love and leftovers by Sarah Tregay to your Converse Cover Collection.

    brenda

Trackbacks

  1. How to Have a Slatebreaking Halloween | slatebreakers says:
    October 24, 2011 at 9:10 am

    […] a white t-shirt with jeans, and carry a baseball mitt. Your footwear should be Converse All Stars, because we all know that high top sneakers = historical fiction. You might as well slap a shiny Newbery Medal sticker on your chest while you’re at […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books 2024
    • 2024 Stars So Far
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Pearls & Rubys
    • Politics in Practice
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • Reasons to Love Libraries
    • 2025 Youth Media Awards
    • Defending the Canon:SLJ & NCTE Review 15 Banned Classics
    • Refreshing the Canon Booklist
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Read Free Poster
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2025


    COPYRIGHT © 2025