A children’s cover has three audiences at once: the child who chooses by colour and character, the parent who pays, and the grandparent buying a gift. It also has to work as a thumbnail on a phone, a face-out shelf in a shop, and a full wrap on a 32-page picture book. That is a lot of jobs for one image, and the hierarchy between them is the design.
What you receive
- Full wrap: front, spine and back, with the spine width calculated from your page count and paper stock.
- Age-appropriate type: large, high-contrast lettering for 3–7, slightly more sophisticated for 7–10, never a decorative font that a child cannot read.
- A character that reads at 80 px — the size a cover appears in a phone search result.
- Back cover copy set and laid out, including space for a barcode and an age band.
- Print and screen exports, plus a square crop for audio and library catalogues.
How we design it
- Read the manuscript — the cover has to promise the story that is actually inside, not a generic adventure.
- Character and scene: a sketch of the hero in the moment that best represents the book.
- Colour and type tested at thumbnail size and at arm’s length across a room.
- Wrap assembly with the back-cover copy, spine and barcode zone, then exports.
Picture book, chapter book, middle grade
Each format has different rules. Picture books need a single legible scene and a title a parent can read from a sofa. Chapter books need a character portrait and a series-friendly frame. Middle grade can carry more atmosphere and a title with attitude, because the child is choosing for themselves and does not want to be seen with something babyish.
The back cover is not an afterthought
In a bookshop the back cover closes the sale: a parent reads the blurb aloud, the child looks at the picture, and one of them decides. We set the copy at a comfortable size, keep the paragraphs short, and leave room for the barcode, the age band and a logo without crowding the last line. The spine gets the same attention, because at 32 pages it is thin, and a title set too large there will wrap or vanish in print; it is sized to the actual paper stock.
Reading levels and what they signal
A cover for a four-year-old should feel like a hug: rounded shapes, warm light, a character making eye contact. A cover for a nine-year-old should feel like an invitation, with more depth, more atmosphere and a title that sounds like a friend talking. Getting that register wrong is the usual reason a good children’s book is bought by the wrong age group or missed entirely, so it is the first thing settled before anything is drawn.
Pricing
| Tier | Scope | Price | Was | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 cover | $50 | $60 | |
| Professional | 3 covers | $150 | $150 | |
| Bulk / Authority | 5 covers | $220 | $230 |
Frequent questions
Do you illustrate the inside pages?
Interior illustration is quoted separately. The cover package includes the wrap artwork; the writing service delivers the manuscript with an illustration brief.
Can you keep my existing character?
Yes, if you can supply reference art or a clear description. Consistency across a series matters more than a perfect single image.
What if the title is long?
We will propose a shorter cover title and keep the full title on the title page and listing — long titles disappear at thumbnail size.
Brief a children’s cover — send the story, the age band and any character references.