Modified Covers Of Classics For Teenage Readers

The teenagers of our time, who are raised on books like “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” usually don’t have much inclination towards classics.

Due to this reason, various publishers have come up with new methods to introduce teenagers with classics with a new attractive outlook such as modern jackets in bold shades of scarlet and lime green.

According to the publishers, the traditional designs and covers are rather boring for the teenagers and a shift in design would considerably help improve the image of the classics in the minds of teenagers.

For example, in the new Penguin edition of Romeo and Juliet, we find Romeo in stubble and a tight white tank top.

The intention behind this shift is to include the classics in the soaring popularity of young-adult genre, which is among the most abruptly growing genres of books.

In the last few years, paranormal romances such as “Twilight” have become immensely popular among the teenagers. Other books such as the “Hunger Games” trilogy have further inspired the dystopian novels.

The redesigned cover of classics is linked to the recent blockbuster teenager novels. For example, the cover of “Wuthering Heights” designed by HarperCollins has a dark black background with a rose in the forefront.

The inscription on the cover reads, “Bella & Edward’s favorite book.” Similar touch has been given to the classic gothic novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker where we see a ghostly woman floating in the center with her platinum hair flying in the air. Besides, the title and author name is surrounded by the pool of blood.

According to the president and publisher of Puffin, Eileen Kreit, “We had that Urban Outfitters customer in mind.

We wanted to appeal to that teenager and give a fresh look to these stories that have been around a very long time.”

Due to these modifications, the sales of classics have considerably increased. For example, the HarperCollins edition of “Wuthering Heights” has sold 125,000 copies since it was released in 2009, which is an extraordinary achievement considering the otherwise dwindling sales of classics.

Good thing about classics is that most of them are in the public domain, which gives the publishers freedom to choose their own version of covers.

While in most places such changes have helped increase the sales of classics, there are some places where teens have rejected the new editions.

Book Passage, a book store at San Francisco Bay Area, is one such place where the display of classics with new covers did not sell well according to the owners of the store.