If you haven’t yet watched the video, Read Like a Writer, I’d encourage you to do so.
We’re going to practice close reading of the front and back covers of The Puma Years by Laura Coleman.
The front cover presents a beautiful profile of a woman adorned with animals, insects, flowers, and greenery.
What does that tell you about the book’s content? What might the publisher be trying to convey to us with this cover?
That’s where close reading starts–with questions.
Let’s look at what else we can learn from the front and back covers.
To me, the blue of the cover represents the infinity of our universe. It is the sky and the air that surround us. The images inside the head are everything the author had to deal with daily once fate brought her to a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. I love the cover and how the jungle is a part of her journey. The Puma is the main character because she takes center stage on the book cover, and I could assume that the memoir will be about the relationship between the large cat and the author. The rest of the animals,… Read more »
In the image I saw that the woman had become part of the jungle. The individual animals and plants are colorful and more pastel than harsh or overly bright. And the edges of the figures, whether plant or animal, are rounded, a style used for images in children’s books to make animals seem friendlier and less dangerous. But there is a spider to hint at the possibility or presence of perhaps lurking danger.
Without even reading any of the text on the front and back cover of The Puma Years book suggested to me that there will be human, animal, and nature interactions. A puma is front and center, so the title is appropriate. The brain of the human’s silhouette is filled with thoughts about the jungle, the flowers, and all the animals that will be part of the story. Because of this, I feel like this might be a book that gives important thoughts about humans and nature. The text gave me more insight into the writing style, the credited endorsements and… Read more »
Kit, I got more out of your review than I did reading the covers. I guess that’s the part of my education process that I need to work on.
BTW, I’m a guy who keeps a can of Lysol spray handy in every room. The dirt in this story is just killing me.
John
I hear you, John! Ha Ha.