Judging a Book by its Cover

This is my favorite book cover featuring Irish Wolfhounds (so far).

My copy had a former life as a library book, so note that the brown stripes at top and bottom are part of its clear protective cover, not the design.

Here's what appeals:

1. The wheaten Wolfhound, Holdfast. His power and strength are offset by the gentle hand of his mistress. The illustrator obviously read the manuscript because the scene foreshadows the story's "gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked" theme.
   
2. The dynamic interplay between the girl, the flow of her Elizabethan gown and the Irish Wolfhound. Really nice design.
3. The typeface seems more Yellow Submarine than medieval but it still manages to flow and take our focus to the girl and dog.
   

What else appeals:

The Beattys lived in Riverside, CA, my former haunt. They used some of my favorite libraries to research the history for this novel set in Elizabethan England. The novel is aimed at young readers. For more books that feature Wolfhounds or that even mention a Wolfhound, here's a list.