Ready to check out what foreign publishers have done cover-wise for Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War? Some of these are head scratchers and others are pretty darn good. As I mentioned in my prior cover retrospective post, it’s worth noting that researching the covers is a little challenging, so any errors are mine and mine alone. It’s especially tricky with foreign covers, but I’ve spent less time worrying about publication dates of these covers and instead think it’s more interesting to look at the designs themselves. Some of these might not be definitive foreign editions, and some of them might be older, rather than the most current version.

If you know of any other foreign editions or know of any further information on any of these covers, I’d love to know in the comments.

Let’s start with what might be my favorite vision of The Chocolate War cover.

This cover comes from China. I love the light blue background, but much more than that, I love how this plays into the fact Jerry is a football player. This cover model doesn’t look prep school, but he looks like an everyday kind of teen boy. But maybe what I love most is the look in his eyes. The boy looks determined but he doesn’t look like he’s out for any ill will, which is precisely how I read Jerry. Even though the cover itself feels light and looks light, I don’t read it as being a lighthearted book. I think it’s the look on the boy’s face and the fact he’s in his gear. I’m also digging on the way the author’s name and the title fill out the right-hand side of the cover. Since I don’t read Chinese, I have no idea what the tag line says on the left-hand side, but I like that it’s in red because it does stand out.

I would not mind having this book on my shelf. Even if I cannot read a word of it.

Here’s another light cover, though it certainly doesn’t read as light hearted. This edition is from Italy, and I kind of dig how it’s illustrated. We have the chocolate on the cover, though the chocolates are of the mixed variety, rather than the chocolate bar variety. The body lying down pretty well sums up the end of the book, and I think it’s interesting that he’s given pants and socks, but no shirt. Unless his shirt is white, but I think he has a belly button there.

I like the handwriting font used for the title, and I like how Cormier’s name looks. It’s a small thing, but it’s visually appealing.

Apologies for the pixilated cover, but it’s the best one I could find. This is the Greek edition of The Chocolate War and it sure has quite a bit going on for it. Or against it. We have the chocolate in the top left-hand corner, followed by a boy who sure looks dejected or frustrated — I can’t completely tell. And I don’t think he’s wearing a shirt. Then on the bottom, we get a boy engaged in a mean game of fisticuffs by himself. There’s also the black and white effect in part of the cover, then we have the gold taking up the majority of the image. I find the entire cover to be visually jarring. Actually, it looks almost more like a cover for a movie or a movie poster than a book cover.

When we get to the French cover, we’re back to looking at boys who appear very young for high school. Or I should say a single boy who looks way too young to be in high school, even as a freshman. But what is with that window in the background? Talk about a little foreboding. I think the most interesting element of the French cover though is how stark and simple it is. It’s almost entirely white. Is it me or does the boy look a little defiant, too? I like that. But this is not my Jerry.

Here are two German versions of The Chocolate War, and I think I like both of them, but for very different reasons. The cover on the left I like because I like the boys. They’re shadowy but they’re distinguishable. They also look a little sketchy and like they’re up to some trouble. Which totally fits the story. And even though it could look weird, I think the green hue on the cover works, as it contrasts nicely with the cream background.

Maybe someone who speaks German can enlighten me a little bit, since I don’t and don’t know, but the title for the cover on the right is a little different than the one on the left. Are they the same book or is one the sequel? I include it either way because I love the shadowy, chocolate-colored figure here. I love how big the image is, and I also like how there is still a shadow here. The second boy in the back has a shadow extending from his feet, but from the way the cover looks, it could be the shadow of the boy in front (depending on the angle of the light, of course). The cover looks a little scary and intimidating, which I think suits the book very well.

This is yet another German edition and yet another German edition that pleases me. I think it looks less prep school and more typical high school, but I love the motion of the image. In many ways, I feel the motion and blurred effect here mirrors much of the content of the book — what are the lines of being good and bad? What is right and wrong? Where do you stand up and where do you conform? I like that we can’t make out the boy’s face, but I do like that he appears to be of the right age, rather than so young like many of the other cover boys. The colors in this cover work for me too. I like the dark blue lockers and the red shirt, and the way both play against the greenish-creamy hues through the rest of the image. And what about the red, enlarged font for Cormier there?

The final two covers are Spanish editions.

On the left, we have so many interesting things going on. I love that it’s almost entirely black, but in the top corner, we see one of the Brothers. My guess is that it’s Brother Leon, but that’s up for debate. Then there’s the boy in the baseball cap in what looks like a picture torn out of a yearbook. But who is it? Also, who wears baseball caps in prep school like that? I would think it’s supposed to be representative of Archie, since he’s the rebellious one. Then there’s the logo and repetition of “Vigils” beside the image. Aside from the fact it’s a clear element of the story, what’s interesting in its use is that it’s in English. In translations, I know that proper names can often stay the same (since there’s not always a clear translation), but there is in Spanish. I’d be curious if it’s changed in text because it’s not on the cover. This cover is almost kind of cartoonish to me, though I do think it reads as a teen book.

Okay.

I saved the best cover to be the last one because I want you to look at it and think about it for a good long minute.

Why is there a girl on it? What boy in The Chocolate War spends any time with a girl? There’s a phone call, but that is the closest to a girl getting page time that there is. Certainly, no boy is walking with a girl like that in the story. So that it’s representative of the book on the cover is bizarre and noteworthy because it doesn’t even happen in the book. But aside from that strange choice in image, I love the illustrated effect. Except, doesn’t it make the book look like it’s almost a happy story? It certainly doesn’t have a darkness or a shadow lingering over it. The design definitely nails the prep school look but this cover doesn’t have anything to do with the book. Dare I say it looks almost like a romance?

Any other foreign editions worth knowing about? Have any favorites in this group or thoughts on any of these covers? I’d love to hear them!