The Fifth Child Covers

Out of the four different covers of "The Fifth Child" there are two that can suit the book the best. Both of them have different views the book can be seen as.
The first cover that has potiental to be the best all around cover is

This cover seems to be a good choice because the child in the photo can be seen as having not many feelings or emotion or as being sad. The child also looks like he is trapped. Even though he does not appear to be begging to come out, he looks hopeless and seems as inside he is dying to explore the outside world, just as Ben was most likely feeling; even though no one will really know what his wants and needs were.

"Now Ben was almost always in his room, like a prisoner... Heavy bars were put in, and there Ben would stand in the sill, gripping the bars and shaking them, and surveying the outside world, letting out his thick, raucous cries" (Lessing 59).

The boy on the cover represents Ben because he looks as if no one will try and understand his feelings. He looks like he has been punished for the wrong reason, possibly because no one takes their time to talk and listen to him and he keeps acting up because of this. That describes Ben in the best way because maybe Ben does not understand his feelings and the destruction he is creating because of a mental issue he wa born with.

The second cover is one that will interest people more than it represents the book.

This cover does represent the book in many ways. It represents Ben and his struggles. When you read articles about children that have disabilities, such as autism, which is best way to describe Ben, you see pictures of children looking depressed and unsocial. When I first saw this cover that is exactly what I thought of, a person who has social issues. The cover looks more modern and sophisticated which would draw in a wider range of readers, who want a book that is about struggles that can happen or they can relate to in their society today.

The best cover would have to be the first one explained, although the second one is close in the race.