Shelf Candy Saturday No. 202: The Black North, by Nigel McDowell

Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!

***Late Edition***

This is my weekly feature

showcasing beautiful covers!

It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!

Here's my choice for this week!

The Black North
Nigel McDowell 
Trade Paperback, 432 pages
Hot Key Books, 
June 5, 2014 
   Fantasy, Middle-Grade Fiction,   
Young Adult Fiction 

My Thoughts About This Cover

This is such a stunning cover! I know it's not the first time I've praised a cover in this way, but really, this IS a stunning cover. It's also a bit creepy..... Usually, I would never have picked such a cover but, in this case, the overall design totally captivated me! It's just so....well, PERFECT. Besides, I have always loved circles, so of course this image immediately appealed to me. 

On this cover, the circle has a magical glow which seems to come from the very magical city at the base of it. And then there are the eerie, creepy images around that circle... There are just so many associations I get from these images. The glowing circle makes me think of a portal leading into the land of the Fae, which is reinforced by the faeries floating above, in the upper left-hand corner. The scary black face at the top of the circle immediately brought to mind the land of Mordor, and, of course, the Dark Lord, Sauron (this is from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings). The glowing magical city reminded me of the castles at Disney World and Disneyland, in Florida and California, respectively. It also reminded me of the Emerald City, from the movie "The Wizard of Oz". The two young heroes at the bottom of the cover instantly made me think of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, from the Harry Potter series.

So there are many fantasy references here! Not that the cover designer was consciously trying to bring in these references, though. I think it's just that these great fantasy works have become so much a part of American -- and, in fact, world culture -- that they are even part of our subconscious minds. So this is really a very effective cover, in that regard.

Visually, again I must say that the design is stunning. That glowing circle frames the title very nicely, thus highlighting its rather sinister feel. The font used, which has been altered to give a very stark look, reinforces that. 

The author's name has been placed outside the cover image. This, I think, makes the design even better, as the name does not interfere at all with the rest of the cover.

I also like that this image is surrounded by white, which somehow makes the main image very ominous-looking.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any information about the brilliant designer of this great cover..... The Amazon preview was no help at all. When I did a Google search, the only link I found was for an article at the Hot Key Books website. The article, whose author is merely identified as "Jan from the Design Department", discusses the development of this cover to its final form. And that's it. Also included in the article is a picture of the cover for another McDowell book, Tall Tales from Pitch End, which has a similar dark feel to it. Jan mentions that this is what the publisher was looking for.   

I am providing the link to this article below. It's very disappointing to find an AMAZING cover like this one, and not be able to provide the name of the highly talented artist who created it...  If I am able to dig up his or her identity, along with more information, I will definitely come back and include it in this post.    

Online Links
The Black North Cover 

 

What do you think of this 
week's cover?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!

Shelf Control No. 3: The Isle of the Lost, by Melissa de la Cruz

Welcome to Shelf Control!

This wonderful book meme is hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies! It features books that are sitting right on our shelves or e-readers, that we want to read, but have just not gotten to as yet.

For the guidelines, just click HERE!

Here's my pick for this week!

The Isle of the Lost

(Descendants, Book 1)

Melissa de la Cruz

Hardcover, 320 pages

Disney Hyperion

May 5, 2015

Fantasy, Middle Grade,

Young Adult Fiction

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it...who will it be?

Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.

Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent's daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon's eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.

Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, doesn't know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she's a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal's little tricks.

Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he's not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon's eye.

Carlos: Cruella de Vil's son may not be the bravest, but he's certainly clever. Carlos's inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon's eye and ending the banishment for good.

Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon's eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends". In their quest for the dragon's eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad. 

  

 

How I Got It

I bought this book at the Miami Book Fair. This event  takes place every year, in downtown Miami, Florida, USA, in the  month of November. I attended  Ms. de la Cruz's presentation,

purchased the book, and got it signed by her. I also got a picture taken with the author!! YAY!!!!

    

When I Got It

On Saturday, November 21, 2015. The reason

I know the exact date is because I published

a blog post about my visit to the fair. If 

you'd like to read it, you can access it HERE.  

Why I Want To Read It

This novel has had a LOT of hype!! The plot is absolutely VERY original, and just AMAZING!!
Besides, I'd like to see all of these kids
turn from evil to good. The author has hinted
that they will. And I'd also like to see just
how they're able to escape from that island!

What do you think of this book?

Have you read it, and if so, 

did you like it?

Please leave a comment and 

let me know!

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 171: Classic Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen

Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!

This is my weekly feature

showcasing beautiful covers!

It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!

Here's my choice for this week!

Classic Fairy Tales
Hans Christian Andersen
Hardcover, 712 pages

Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions
July 31, 2015
Classics, Middle-Grade Fiction, Fantasy, 
Young Adult Fiction

My Thoughts About This Cover

Last night, hubby took me to Barnes & Noble, which I have nicknamed "Paradise" (this refers to the famous Jorge Luis Borges quote; see my sidebar). I walked into the store, brimming with happiness, and started browsing, not sure of what I wanted to buy. Then I came across a table full of B&N's collectible editions, and found the exquisite treasure shown above! That was it -- I was gone. I just HAD to buy this GORGEOUS book!! There were several of them on the table, all wrapped up in plastic, but one had no plastic on it, so that customers could look through the book. I did so, and was simply enchanted by the black & white illustrations. There are also some in color, scattered throughout the book.

The illustration on the cover is absolutely beautiful, of course, but the ornamentation all around it just makes that cover a work of art. This ornamentation has a definite Art Nouveau influence, I think. It gives the book a very European, 19th-century look, which is very appropriate, as the author was from Denmark, and was born in that century. It also gives this cover a definite magical, as well as whimsical, feel. I love the color combinations, too! That lush, red background goes perfectly with the plant-like forms curling around the illustration, with their highlights of silver and gold.

This is the full cover. 

This gorgeous specimen of the bookmaking art is not that expensive, either; it cost $20.00 plus tax. Had this been manufactured by the Folio Society, for instance, it would have been MUCH more expensive!

This edition is leather-bound, and the pages are gilded in gold.   This magnificent volume houses another treasure -- the wonderful, classic fairy tales that most children read as they're growing up. I certainly did, and, in fact, still own my childhood copy, which is, to say the least, a little worn.... So I was very happy to find this glorious book! Now I can re-read these stories I loved so much as a child!

The illustration was created by Laurel Long, and the cover design, by Patrice Kaplan. Long is a brilliant illustrator who specializes in book illustration. She has won several awards for her work, and counts well-known publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin USA among her clients. Kaplan is a graphic designer who works for Barnes & Noble. I could not find much about her, though. 

Online Links
Laurel Long Website
Love For Books Blog
(the illustrations here are amazing)
The Twelve Days of Christmas 

 

What do you think of this 
week's cover?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!