Only a few people are creating a book cover with a GIF border, so it may be a way to have your book cover stand out in a sea of book covers. The book cover here was made by me, so the book cover itself is not great. But what about the GIF? Does it make the book cover stand out or is it gaudy?
You might try coming up with something that isn't so eye-searing, and that doesn't make you feel like you're entering Las Vegas Technicolor Vomit Hell-World I think it could be decent if you use a simple, tasteful animated image.
If I saw that by itself I'd say it looks unprofessional for the subject matter. But If you are asking if I would give it a second look if it appeared in a sea of static thumbnails for similar books? Definitely, but I don't know if it would go further than that.
It does attract attention, but not to the content of the book. It kind of neutralizes the image in the middle because I don't get the relation between the animated portion with those bright colors and the image (the real cover) in the middle. It feels like you just turned on some motel lights on it--just to make my point clear. I think there is so much interest in cover design that people appreciate a clever or provocative or inquisitive or "beautiful" image, where the cover art uses a language that reveals/connects/matters to the content.
I feel faintly hypnotized. Bruce makes a good point - the rainbow blocks don't really have to do with anything maybe black and white equations or something nothing so stark.
As a substitute teacher myself, that cover screams "Stress!" "Distraction!" "Disruption!" When all I want is to get each class settled so I can open my laptop and work on my novel circulate quietly around the room and make sure the students are doing their work.
I looked at it today again--I remembered a much smaller central image totally swamped by the bright colors. So today the cover looks better but, as already mentioned by others, it doesn't lead to buy/open the book to see what it is about. My thought when I look at this cover is to draw a relation between the bright colors and the central image because the cover can be broken down into those two elements. I deduce that the bright colors blinking might be connected to "magic" in the title, but it makes me think more of a magician's magic (like a cabaret show) than magic that will make children learn. I think that book covers are designed to draw potential readers into the book, to make them curious about its content--it is a subtle affair.
Silk purse/sow's ear. The cover design without the border is forgettable at best, and the animation evokes a cheesy-website-display-ad vibe, and we're all sick and tired of that nonsense (aren't we?).
I feel like the concept's there. Maybe much slower, less strobe like. In fact...I have a WIP where the hoisting of a red banner has big consequences. I can picture slow mo billowing red fabric in the border. So I may steal this idea if I ever get that far.
MUCH too busy and flashy for my tastes. Yes, it would make the book stand out among other covers on a web page (such as Amazon). Respectfully, for me it would inform me instantly that THIS IS A BOOK I DON'T WANT.
