SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • 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

April 29, 2015 by Travis Jonker

Slim Appeal: 5 Successful Book Spines

April 29, 2015 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

The “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” war has been over for a while now, with everyone conceding that while a cover isn’t always an indicator of what’s inside, an aesthetically pleasing one can certainly make a child (/33 year old school librarian) want to read it.

That’s all well and good for books that are displayed face out, but what about books that aren’t shiny and new and given the opportunity to show their cover to the world? The books that are on the shelf, a slim spine amid a sea of others?

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I gave an award for Spine of the Year once, but today I want to focus on five spines that stand out, and (I think) get read more often because of it.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Description: A close-up of Hugo’s face, focusing on his eye.

Why It’s Successful: No list of book spines would be complete without mentioning the undisputed champion. While this book gets checked out a ton for a number of reasons, that huge mysterious eye on the spine doesn’t hurt. Have you ever had someone stare at you? It’s hard to ignore, right? Same thing applies here. It’s this same reason that the spine for Nighttime Ninja draws attention:

Gone Fishing

Description: Hand-lettered stick font on top of a green fish scale pattern.

Why It’s Successful: It’s unique. Not many spines have hand-drawn elements, and the fish scale pattern is one that draws your eye. Just look at that sucker up there, making every other spine look yawn-worthy by comparison.

The Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny

Description: Red and white and bold all over.

Why It’s Successful: No big secret here, the appeal of red and white is something Kellog’s has been hammering for years.

Also, perhaps you’re familiar with this?

Or this band?

Red and white works, folks.

Time for Bed, Fred!

Description: Light blue with contrasting dots.

Why It’s Successful: The simple added element of dots makes the spine stand out on the shelf. I think our eyes are trained to look for patterns, and this spine gives it to us.

Stick Dog (Series)

Description: A black background with red letters and an image of the main character.

Why It’s Successful: This one stands out because it boldly goes with black as the background color. But notice the books next to them – also black. It’s the red lettering and image of Stick Dog that put this one over the top.

What book spines have you noticed catching kids’ eyes?

Filed under: Articles

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

June 2023

Watch The Yarn LIVE with Kate DiCamillo at ALA!

by Travis Jonker

June 2023

Listen to Gene Luen Yang on TED Radio Hour

by Travis Jonker

May 2023

Notes on May 2023

by Travis Jonker

May 2023

Keeping an Eye On . . . the PEN America Book Ban Lawsuit

by Travis Jonker

May 2023

The Unexpecteds: 5 Sneakily Popular Books in Our K-3 School Library This Year

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Name That LEGO Book Cover! (#44)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Ellen Myrick Publisher Preview: Fall 2023/Winter 2024 (Part Six – Diamond, Eye of Newt, & Floris Books)

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Squire & Knight | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

More Mock-Newbery Titles Needed: Share June Suggestions Now

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Top 25 Titles at My School: Graphic Novels and Mauds Reign Supreme!

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Trying Something New: SPEED ROUND w/ Marla Frazee, Doug Salati, Dan Santat, and Amina Luqman-Dawson

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Gender Expression: Books That Bring the Discussions—and the Pronouns—Up to Date

12 Latest Installments in Transitional, Middle Grade, and YA Graphic Novel Series

4 Adult Crossover Titles for Teens to Read This Summer | We Are Kid Lit Collective

3 Timely Middle Grade Titles Featuring Pandemics | SLJ Spotlight

3 Books about the World: Home is Bigger than We Think | Picture Book Spotlight

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. tommfranklin says

    April 29, 2015 at 9:19 am

    I’m surprised this isn’t taken into greater consideration by book designers working on kids books. Despite the thin spine/small working space available on picture books, it’s clear that it is possible to design an inviting and intriguing picture book spine.

    (By contrast I would suggest that the two Ella title in the second image aren’t as inviting because young kids might not recognize cursive writing.)

    The spine of the Stick Dog series alone makes me want to give them a try.

    — Tom

  2. Sally says

    April 29, 2015 at 11:47 am

    I vote for Pickle by Kim Baker! It sells for us just because of the spine.

    http://kimbakerbooks.com/images/pickle/FullSizeRender.png

    • Travis Jonker says

      April 29, 2015 at 12:59 pm

      Sally – yes! I agree! That’s the book I gave Spine of the Year to a few years back. It’s great!

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
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • 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
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    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 © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023