Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

A new book cover for L. M. Montgomery's children's literary classic Anne of Green Gables is upsetting and outrageous. It pictures a curvy blond, provocatively posed. Whoever is responsible for this cover clearly never even heard of Anne-the spunky, skinny red haired girl covered in freckles. Anne's hair is actually important to the story and the character she is, like it is for many red heads. In fact she even breaks her slate over a boy's head in school when he calls her "carrots." Anne didn't always love being a red-head, but she certainly would not have approved of being turned into this blond. In fact she says in the book that if she had her choice she would have had hair of “a glorious black, black as the raven’s wing.”
This misleading book cover is one of a many in a disturbing trend I have been noticing where publishers are giving makeovers to classic literature to lure in the Twilight generation of Beliebers.
Just take a look at these book covers that while they may be eye-catching and more modern looking, they really remind us that you can never judge a book by it's cover.

Warning the book To Kill a Mockingbird does not actually involve a bloody massacre of birds.

This retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy of the star crossed lovers is an even more extreme example because it's not just the cover that has been made over, but the entire book. This is exactly geared towards that Twilight set I was referring to. Seriously, is it me or is that Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart on the cover. Just read the original play kids!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Austen's tale of the matchmaker Emma is what the great film "Clueless" is based on but this cover updates her even more giving Emma rainbow braided hair evocative of Pinterest. Why?

Yikes. So much going on here for this new cover of Alcott's Little Women. While I appreciate the reference to the March girls' fondness for needlepoint, this design has me exhausted by this book without ever having read a word.

Oh look-it's Twilight! Nope actually it's Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights-which (spoiler) has nothing to do with vampires despite how similar these covers are to trick you into reading it.

Now Bram Stoker's Dracula IS about vampires-but this bloody cover that looks like an over the top instagram edit is a weird marketing tactic.

This is a cover for an edition of the actual "Romeo & Juliet." Or is it a poster for the revival of the musical "Hair?"

This cover for Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter seemingly turns the story of the ostracized woman into "Mean Girls."