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March 12, 2009 by Travis Jonker

Unfortunate Covers (#8)

March 12, 2009 by Travis Jonker   12 comments

It’s been a little bit since our last Unfortunate Cover, so take a look at past picks if you need your memory jogged: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7.

Our latest entry into the series is so unappealing, it almost doesn’t deserve comment. Almost! One of the schools where I work is putting on a used book sale later this month, and students have been encouraged to bring in donations. When I saw this one come in, I knew that it would repel readers far and wide:

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img_2266

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

This is certainly unfortunate. If you’ve been looking for a way to inspire someone to not read Lewis Carroll’s classic, place this anywhere in their field of vision. But more offensive than the 2 for $1 “sticker” (that is actually part of the cover), more disturbing than the stiff, dated, oil painting of the main characters is the fact that Alice kinda looks like a 30 year old dude with a wig. Let’s take a closer look:

img_2268

Let me know if I’m wrong about this one.

Filed under: Unfortunate Covers

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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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ms. Yingling says

    March 12, 2009 at 8:31 am

    Oh, these are not so bad. I have some that are REALLY unfortunate. Or rather, I had. Covers were really appalling in the 80s and 90s, and thankfully have improved a LOT. Thanks for the laugh!

  2. Becky says

    March 12, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    There’s something very manly about this Alice. I noticed it right off.

  3. Emily says

    March 12, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    Oh, no, you’re definitely right on this one. The mad hatter also looks extraordinarily creepy, and not in a good way.

  4. Sadako says

    March 12, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    Agree, this is wrong.

    Also, I always thought the March Hare was kind of brownish. But he’s white on this cover. Which makes me confuse him with the White Rabbit!

  5. Rasco from RIF says

    March 13, 2009 at 9:37 am

    Appears to be a poorly costumed/set designed, junior high self-done drama class production!

  6. Elizabeth says

    March 14, 2009 at 9:10 pm

    I want to put this up on my wall.

  7. Elizabeth says

    March 14, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    Possibly on my boyfriend’s side of the bedroom, out of jealousy at how much more easily he falls asleep than I do. This will fix that!

Trackbacks

  1. Unfortunate Covers (#9) « 100 Scope Notes says:
    April 16, 2009 at 3:03 am

    […] #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8. […]

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