Is My Are You My Mother? a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Beginner Books number B-18: roughly 9 x 6.5 in., 64 pages, glossy colour pictorial boards, colour illustrated throughout with pictorial endpapers; the book number B-18 belongs on the spine
• As with all Beginner Books, the jacket carries the identification
• First-printing jackets show the '100 Word Vocabulary' box at the Cat in the Hat Beginner Books logo on the front panel, are priced with the price code present at the front flap (unclipped), and list 18 Beginner Books titles on the rear panel — Zielinski's 1960 back configuration 'F' — with Are You My Mother? itself last and the three 'Beginning Beginners' titles included
• Books B-14 to B-18 exist in two jacket states, the earlier reading 'Distributed by Random House' (Beginner Books still independent) and the later 'A Division of Random House' (after Random House's 1960 acquisition); an ABAA-marketplace dealer records the first-edition copy as the 'Distributed by Random House' state with 18 titles to the rear panel
• A rear panel listing more than 18 titles is a later printing

How Beginner Books / Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Beginner Books / Random House first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US-only true first: Beginner Books, New York, 1960, distributed by Random House — Eastman's second Beginner Book after Sam and the Firefly (1958). No UK or foreign-language edition precedes it; later British Beginner Books issues are separate editions, not firsts. Caution: Random House later printed 'First Printing' on the copyright pages of reprints, so a printing statement alone does not make a first — the jacket configuration and imprint wording govern.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Beginner Books were widely reprinted for book clubs. Club copies are slightly smaller in format, OMIT the B-18 book number from the spine, and use thinner spines, cheaper cover stock and lower-grade paper; later mass-market reprints carry barcodes the early issues lack.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Are You My Mother? a first edition?

A first edition of Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman (Beginner Books / Random House) is identified by: Beginner Books number B-18: roughly 9 x 6.5 in., 64 pages, glossy colour pictorial boards, colour illustrated throughout with pictorial endpapers; the book number B-18 belongs on the spine.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US-only true first: Beginner Books, New York, 1960, distributed by Random House — Eastman's second Beginner Book after Sam and the Firefly (1958).

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Beginner Books were widely reprinted for book clubs. Club copies are slightly smaller in format, OMIT the B-18 book number from the spine, and use thinner spines, cheaper cover stock and lower-grade paper; later mass-market reprints carry barcodes the early issues lack.

I have a first edition of Are You My Mother? — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.