Judging a book by its cover

Do you know the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover"? It's true that we shouldn't form our opinion about something or someone based simply on what they look like, but we can say a lot about a book by looking at its front and back covers. Have you ever tried doing that?

Click here to see the front cover of Peter Mayle's bestseller, A Year in Provence. What can you say about the book by looking at its cover? How does the illustration help you anticipate what the story is going to be about? What images come to your mind when you think about the French countryside? Do they correspond to the images you see on the cover? What kind of people will Mayle meet during the time he is there? What do people eat and drink there? What kind of problems is he going to have?

Now click on back cover on the left side of the webpage. What other information do you have about the book? What adjectives are used to describe it? Who is talking about the book? Who are they? Why do you think their opinions appear there?

Did the covers help you have an idea of what the book is about? Do they make you curious about the story? Is this a book you would like to read?

And how about trying a vocabulary activity?