The 13 Best Book Covers of April

Another month of books, another month of book covers. Here are my favorites from the season so far:

Tennessee Williams, The Caterpillar Dogs and Other Early Stories; cover design by Erik Carter (New Directions, April 4)

Pure joy. And a very good representation of “caterpillar dogs,” to be fair. How can you not love it?

Curtis Sittenfeld, Romantic Comedy; cover design by Cassie Gonzales (Random House, April 4)

Bright, bold, and energetic, this cover makes the book look like a very yummy snack, and you know what, that’s exactly what it is.

Fernanda Melchor, tr. Sophie Hughes, This is Not Miami; cover design by Jamie Keenan (New Directions, April 4)

The perfect marriage of title, concept, and execution.

Alejandro Varela, The People Who Report More Stress: Stories; cover design by Rodrigo Corral, illustration by Matt Buck (Astra House, April 4)

I love the way the image suggests a larger pattern while also giving us the active movement of the figure. Plus, the color! It’s giving me life.

Ágota Kristóf, tr. Nina Bogin, The Illiterate; cover design by Oliver Munday (New Directions, April 4)

How can Oliver Munday do so much with two dots and a scribble?

Maria Hesselager, tr. Martin Aitken, First Comes Summer; cover design by Grace Han (Riverhead, April 11)

A master class in overlapping—and in restraint (I love that the text and the moon are the same hue). Terrifically spooky.

Maggie Smith, You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir; cover design by James Iacobelli (Atria/One Signal Publishers, April 11)

A great use of this hand-cut lettering effect.

Karl Geary, Juno Loves Legs; cover design by Nicole Caputo (Catapult, April 18)

The combination of image selection and text treatment draws you in here.

Mike Jay, Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind; cover design by Luke Bird (Yale University Press, April 18)

A very groovy use of archival imagery.

Katy Simpson Smith, The Weeds; cover design by Grace Han (FSG, April 18)

Gasp—is that SunPrint?? Oh, the nostalgia! (It’s also pretty lovely even if you didn’t spend your childhood summers leaving leaves out on paper.)

Jacqueline Crooks, Fire Rush; cover design by Gregg Kulick, jacket photograph (colorized) by Peeterv/Getty Images (Viking, April 18)

Honestly, you had me at the fire font.

Brian Dillon, Affinities: On Art and Fascination; art by Allison Katz (NYRB, April 25)

This cabbage pleased me so much—and then I noticed the shadow.

Pirkko Saisio, tr. Mia Spangenberg, The Red Book of Farewells; cover design by Rafael Nobre (Two Lines Press, April 25)

It’s weird and jarring and aggressive, and pretty unlike most other book covers I’ve seen lately. All good things in my book.