Background information
Organization name
Grasher Publications
Industry
Entertainment & The Arts
Description of the organization and its target audience
We publish Children's books of fantasy and inspiration.
Content details
Description
A children's front and back book cover with spine for middle age reader between 8 - 10 years old. Inspirational fantasy. The book will be printed in both digital and print.
Size of the book is 9 x 6 inches. It will be printed with full color, glossy cover.
Title of book: My Dog Can Fly
Author: Patricia Grasher
In designing book covers for this contest I would prefer not to use stock images. While background or something small can be used - I am really wanting a cover that will be original - stand out - and that I can follow through with the designer for the rest of the book series.
The book is about a boy aged 9 and girl aged 8 who discover a hidden cave during their summer vacation in a small summer community along the Oregon coast.
The cave is set against a mountain with a giant fir that has branches sweeping to the ground so that in most cases the cave is completely hidden. See pinterest page for images of trees/dogs/book covers I like
https://www.pinterest.com/joyinjesu…ok-covers/
The cave is occupied by a big, black dog (long fur, sort of like a Newfoundland) and her puppies. They are protecting a small blond haired boy of three who was kidnapped and escaped with the help of the dogs. The dogs can fly (do not have wings) and at one point in the book help the children to fly through the air as they grab onto a dog or a puppies's collar.
The kidnappers, a man and woman team (lady is the most evil) are trying to find the small boy they kidnapped and get rid of him.
The small town sheriff refuses to believe the story about the flying dogs until at one point in the story he is in his office leaning back on his chair with feet on his desk and he sees the flying dog and puppies out his window.
I had a graphic designer ask me if there was something more or "new" that I could include in the description of the book. I shared with him the following and thought it would be good to share with all of you. (This does not have to be on the cover - but it does add a new dimension - to what I am looking for.
I shared. "One thing that has not come out in any of the covers at this point is about the cave. The story actually hinges around the kids discovering a magic cave which is found behind a huge fir tree and discovered by accident. The cave does not "look" magic - but the cave has long tunnels in it that convey there is more and more to be discovered. I will be including some of these magic cave explorations in future books."
The entrance to the cave looks very ordinary. It is barely more than a slit in the mountain side that the children have to bend down and crawl into to get inside. A huge fir tree with sweeping branches that drape the ground cover the entrance which is why it is discovered by the two kids completely by accident. The cave is dark, small and frightening in the beginning. Only after the boy and girl have crawled into it do they discover it is more than just a cave.
The big dog and her puppies live inside the cave and they have brought the small boy who was kidnapped (and rescued by big dog) into the cave for safety.
After the first few chapters the book does have a lot of action outside of the cave so this does not have to be on the front cover - but if the cave can be conveyed in some way either in the background on the front or back cover it would be good.
References
Other notes
Created a Pinterest board with some book designs that I like.
https://www.pinterest.com/joyinjesu…ok-covers/
I would prefer *custom illustration, and no stock images.* If you use stock images, you must properly declare them.
Added images of the dog breed that I am thinking of. Large, furry, Newfoundland.
The newspaper clipping (color photo) is one I found years ago but seems to catch some of the magic and fun I hope to impart in the book.
If dogs were added to the picture and just the three main characters - boy 9, girl 8, child 3 it might make part of a great cover.
Particularly if a dog or puppy were seen flying into the scene. Just a thought - open to any flight of fantasy that might happen.
Just added 11 bestselling book covers that I like and found on Amazon.
Contest deliverables
Digital design
Final files
If you use fonts that require a license, confirm with the client they're ok with it. For licensing reasons, it is better to provide your client with information on how to acquire the font rather than providing the actual files.