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 Where I Come From by Rick Bragg.

The front cover presents a photo of an old pickup truck with a goat standing in the back bed.

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.