Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Jack. Jack Wonders, “Can you judge a book by its cover?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Jack!
What’s your favorite type of book to read? A paperback that you can slip into your pocket and read on the bus on your way to and from school? A hardcover that protects a favorite book from damage over time? An e-book that you can take with you anywhere?
Today, there are more ways to read books than ever before. Beyond libraries and traditional book stores, books can now be bought online and instantly downloaded to all sorts of devices.
Children today have so many more choices than people did in the past. These choices can sometimes be overwhelming. With so many choices, how do you choose which book to read next?
Of course, when you’re looking for a new book, the first thing you’re likely to see is the book’s cover. A book’s cover is like an advertisement. It’s supposed to intrigue you, give you an idea of what the book is about, and entice you to give the book a closer look.
Check out the covers of these popular children’s books:
Which of these books have you read? Do you think the covers do a good job of enticing readers and giving them an idea of what the book is about?
Is it good to judge a book by its cover, though? You may hear people warning against doing so. These warnings usually take the form of “Never judge a book by its cover,” “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” or “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Why would people tell you not to judge a book by its cover? These sayings are idioms. They mean you shouldn’t judge the value or worth of something based solely upon outward appearances.
In life in general, this is good advice. Appearances can be deceiving. Before you can make a judgment about something’s value or worth, you need to take the time to investigate it fully. Take a deeper, closer look. You might be surprised by what you find. True worth and value aren’t always obvious when we only look at the surface.
If you read a lot, you’ve most likely come across books that just didn’t thrill you like you thought they would based upon their colorful, exciting covers. Likewise, you’ve probably picked up books with boring covers that turned out to be wonderful.
So the old saying does hold true many times: You can’t necessarily judge a book by its cover. If you see a book whose cover intrigues you, give it a closer look. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a new favorite! But don’t forget that a less interesting cover doesn’t mean another book won’t be just as enjoyable.
Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.SL.2 CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, NCAS.A.1, NCAS.A.2, NCAS.A.3,
