Lauren Baratz-Logsted has been here many times sharing Cover Stories, and now the final book in her Sisters 8 series (which she writes with her husband and daughter) is out! You can read the Cover Story for the first two books here.
Take it away, Lauren!
"On August 7, the ninth and final volume in The Sisters 8 was published. The Sisters 8 is a series for young readers, that I created with my husband and daughter, about octuplet girls whose parents go missing one New Year's Eve.
"From the time we sold the first book to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I was curious about what the cover would look like. Perhaps more than any area of books I can think of, series for children are defined in the public mind over a long period of time by the packaging. Can you imagine Harry Potter or Junie B. Jones with a different style artwork on the cover? Try switching the two styles in your mind. Does your head hurt yet? So, as perhaps you can imagine, I was nervous.
"All I can say is, the day HMH decided to go with Lisa K. Weber to do the cover and interior illustrations, it was a great day for me. It's as though, with each cover (see a few at right), she's captured everything that I hope is special about the books.
"Take this latest cover, for instance. All eight sisters are depicted but since there are no cats on the cover - the sisters each have a cat and one has always had a cover op in the past - I imagine young readers will wonder about that! Annie, the oldest octuplet, is making a chess move against a boy - a boy? on a TSE cover? - and wherever they are, it's snowing outside; which is odd since, when last we saw the sisters at the end of Book 8, it was August. Hmm...
"So much gorgeous artwork to look at, so much to think about...
"Not to mention, the amazing job HMH's own Carol Chu has done throughout the series with the design and lettering. Honestly, I could not be happier. And that's really saying something because, 25 books into my career, I have by no means loved all my covers. In fact...
"But that's another cover story for another day."
Thanks, Lauren! I've made no secret of the fact that I think the illustrations in this series are adorable and so cute, with an edge. What do you guys think?
Read more of Lauren's Cover Stories (for Crazy Beautiful, for The Twin's Daughter, and for The Education of Bet and Marcia's Madness (another Sisters 8 book).