Friday Face-Off: Children
Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.
This week’s theme is:
“There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.”
~ a cover that features CHILDREN
Mogsy’s Pick:
Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner
I confess I only picked up this Middle Grade book in audio because I heard it was narrated by the sultry-voiced Claudia Black, but it actually ended up being quite a fun magical adventure. Set in the tyrannical city of Jewel, the story introduces readers to young Goldie Roth on the eve of Separation Day, the day on which children like her will finally be free of their oppressors, the Blessed Guardians. But when it is announced that Separation Day is canceled, Goldie runs away and ends up taking refuge in the mysterious Museum of Dunt, where she makes new friends with a strange boy named Toadspit.
Museum of Thieves is entertaining and dynamic, enjoyable even for adults, though its message of growing up and gaining independence will probably be more appropriate for younger readers, as evidenced by the whimsical covers. Let’s take a look at them now:
From left to right:
Delacorte (2010) – Allen & Unwin (2010)
Spanish Edition (2015) – German Edition (2010)
Polish Edition (2016) – Ukrainian Edition (2019)
Winner:
Speaking of whimsy, I like how most of these covers manage to capture the fantastical and sometimes eerie nature of the Museum of Dunt. But in particular, I just love the detail in the Delacorte cover and the way the light and shadows play over the Goldie and Toadspit as they gaze upon the strange and wonderful knickknacks of the museum. And as a bonus, it even depicts the brizzlehound Broo, in this “little” form. Needless to say, that’s no ordinary dog.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
The BiblioSanctum 
That Delacorte cover makes me want to read this- it’s definitely my favorite one!
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I agree, it’s so beautiful!
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The first two covers are great but the Delacorte is fantastic – it reminds me of a gorgeous book shop I visited in Portugal – it almost has a Harry Potter feel to it. Gorgeous
Lynn 😀
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I was thinking the same with the same with the Harry Potter vibes!
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None of the covers are duds – but that Delacorte offering is simply wonderful. Fabulous choice for this week – I haven’t read this one and now I’m interested…
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Yeah, all the covers are very strong, but the Delacorte just blows them all away!
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That’s my favorite too! When I started looking and saw it first, I actually thought it was going to be hard to beat. Yep, I was right!
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Yeah, it’s hard to follow the original!
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For me it’s a toss up between the Delacorte and Allen & Unwin covers. I love the style of both!
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I have to say the A&U is also very pretty – I like the bordered/frame effect.
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Yes I really like that cover that you picked! As a kid I’d have grabbed it off the shelves!
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Same here!
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LOL! I too picked this up because of Claudia Black! And like you, enjoyed it very much – one of my rare forays into audiobooks, indeed… 🙂
As for the cover, the Delacorte edition has no contenders in my opinion…
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Haha, I wish she would narrate more audiobooks! She has such a great voice.
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The Spanish is fun 😀
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I like the cartoony style!
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I love the Delacorte edition. It immediately caught my eye, there’s just something magical about it. And you can’t get much better than Claudia Black for narration!
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Yeah, that one immediately caught my eye. And I love Claudia Black’s voice, I know she does a lot of video games but I wish she would narrate more audiobooks.
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Such cool covers! I would have definitely picked the one you did too. 😀
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Yep, pretty easy choice this week lol!
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My fav is Allen and Unwin 😉
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That one is a close second for me!
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