The Baby-Sitter’s Club book series to get cover redesigns with relaunch of backlist

In April 2010, Scholastic will publish repackaged titles from Ann M. Martin’s “The Baby-Sitter’s Club” series along with a prequel titled The Summer Before. We aren’t sure what the redesigned covers for the first 20 books in the series will look like, but we spotted a thumbnail for the prequel on the NYT site (seen above).

“…The Baby-Sitters Club, which ran from 1986 through 2000, garnered an ardent following among preteenage girls throughout its run of 213 titles, with the publisher ultimately printing 176 million copies. The series, which followed the baby-sitting adventures and friendships of four 12-to-13-year-old girls — Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey (the cast expanded to eight main characters later in the series) — spawned several spinoffs, including a mystery series and a collection of books about Kristy’s little sister. All of the books are now out of print…” —via New York Times

slideshow looking at the history and design behind classic University Press logos, and thoughts on more recent redesigns in hopes to modernize the brands

(via The New Yorker, above logo for the University of Washington Press was designed by Audrey Meyer)

Amazon’s much anticipated Kindle 2 redesign comes with some big improvements over it’s older sibling, the Kindle.

Aside from the more ergonomical form factor, the new Kindle adds 3G wireless connectivity so you can find that new book outside of hotspots.

What’s inside:

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise”

via Engadget & The New York Times

UPDATE: GOOD does their own hands-on take