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Liz Szabla, Editor-in-chief of the Feiwel and Friends imprint, gives us the inside scoop about the cover for The Girl Who Became a Beatle:

Every once in a while, a book comes along that demands a cover image outside the realm of stock photography. You know those sites—Corbis and the like—where many art directors and designers go for book jacket ideas and images. Why? Because it’s cheaper than setting up a photo shoot. Hiring the photographer, hiring models, renting props—photo shoots can be expensive.

But sometimes, a book needs an original cover. One with an image never before seen. Or, in the case of Greg Taylor’s The Girl Who Became a Beatle, an image that is a play on an iconic album cover.

My husband, Gary Spector, has been a professional photographer his entire career. In the 20 years we’ve been together, I’ve seen his industry change radically—and digital photography is only the tip of the iceberg.

When our creative director, Rich Deas, and our group were brainstorming cover ideas for Girl Who Became a Beatle, we couldn’t resist riffing on that fabulous image from “Meet the Beatles”—the portrait of four young, beautiful guys shot against a dark background.

Rich talked to Gary about it, and they worked out a concept. But when we started looking at models for the two teen girls and two teen boys in the book, we were underwhelmed. This has happened to us before—sometimes, professional models look too…perfect. Too coiffed, too polished, too unapproachable. The result can be, well, vacant.

Our characters for Girl Who Became a Beatle are anything but two-dimensional, and we realized we needed real kids—approachable, attentive, and adorable. Luckily, our MacKids family proved a treasure trove of personality. The kids on the cover are (from left to right): Emma, daughter of Feiwel and Friends publisher Jean Feiwel, Carmean and Walker, daughter and son of our marketing director Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, and Chad, Rich’s niece’s boyfriend (sadly, now her ex-boyfriend). Does Chad look familiar? He’s also the “face” of Feiwel & Friend’s Wereling books by Steve Feasey, as well as the guy behind the freaky glasses on the cover of Andrew Smith’s The Marbury Lens.

Gary loved working with these models. If I do say so myself, he has a way with people, and soon into the shoot, the models were comfortable and connecting with their characters, but also not afraid to let their own spirits shine through. The result is dazzling!

—Liz Szabla

The Girl Who Became a Beatle

By Greg Taylor

On Sale in Hardcover and Paperback today!