Judy Blume First Editions

• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. — 1970 · Bradbury PressThe 1970 Bradbury Press first printing is identified by the copyright page stating 'first printing' (not by an absence of any printing statement). Bound in light blue cloth stamped in yellow; first-issue jacket designed by Eros Keith with the original price to the front flap. Genuinely uncommon in first printing because early copies were heavily read. The US Bradbury Press 1970 edition is the true first. Later issues moved to Dell paperback and other hardcover imprints. A first-printing Bradbury in the original jacket is uncommon. Book-club and Dell paperback issues are later. The Bradbury first is identified by the imprint and an explicit 'first printing' line on the copyright page; book-club copies typically lack the printed flap price and may carry a blind-stamp.
• Iggie's House — 1970 · Bradbury PressBradbury Press (Englewood Cliffs) first printing with a 1970 copyright and no later-printing statement on the copyright page. Bound in red cloth. The scarce first-issue dust jacket carries artwork by Jerry Joyner and should retain its original printed price. US Bradbury Press first edition. This was Blume's first full-length novel, adapted from a story she wrote for a children's magazine. It was not her first published book (that was the picture book The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo, Reilly and Lee, 1969) and it was not serialized. Book-club editions show club markings and lack the priced first-issue jacket.
• Freckle Juice — 1971 · Four Winds PressFour Winds Press first edition with a 1971 copyright, illustrated by Sonia O. Lisker. This is a short chapter book issued as a hardcover in pictorial paper-covered boards and WITHOUT a dust jacket; there is no first-issue jacket to seek. Identify the first printing by the 1971 Four Winds Press imprint and the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page. US Four Winds Press first edition (1971). Later printings and the 1973 Four Winds paperback are the common survivals; distinguish the 1971 hardcover in pictorial boards from these reprints by imprint and copyright date.
• Then Again, Maybe I Won't — 1971 · Bradbury PressBradbury Press first with a 1971 copyright and a stated 'First Printing' on the copyright page, with no later-printing statement present. First-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap and a cover photograph credited to Gary Gladstone. Octavo, 164 pages. US Bradbury Press first edition; look for the stated 'First Printing' together with the priced first-issue Gladstone-photo jacket. Book-club editions show club markings, drop the 'First Printing' statement, and lack the priced first-issue jacket.
• It's Not the End of the World — 1972 · Bradbury PressBradbury Press first with a 1972 copyright and no later-printing statement on the copyright page, in a first-issue dust jacket with the original price (white jacket with a striped sunrise and a girl in the foreground). US Bradbury Press first edition. Book-club editions show club markings and lack the priced first-issue jacket.
• Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great — 1972 · E.P. DuttonTrue first is the E.P. Dutton edition (New York, 1972) with the 1972 title-page date and no later-printing statement, illustrated by Roy Doty. Bound in blue cloth-covered boards with red endpapers. The first-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap. US E.P. Dutton first edition. A spin-off featuring Sheila Tubman, set after Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; illustrations by Roy Doty. Book-club editions are printed on lighter bulk, lack the flap price, and often show a blind stamp on the rear board.
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing — 1972 · E. P. DuttonThe 1972 E. P. Dutton hardcover first, illustrated by Roy Doty with full-page black-and-white drawings, in orange boards with the spine stamped in black and a pictorial blind stamp to the front board; first-issue jacket with the original price to the front flap. Introduces the Hatcher family (Peter and Fudge). The US Dutton 1972 edition is the true first; Dell paperbacks are later. First hardcover printings are scarce. Book-club and paperback editions are later. Identify the Dutton first by the imprint and binding; book-club copies usually lack the printed flap price and are often noted as BCE/BOMC.
• Deenie — 1973 · Bradbury PressTrue first is the Bradbury Press edition (Scarsdale, NY), 1973, 159 pages, ISBN 0-87888-061-5. The title page/copyright page carries the 'First Edition' notation, but note that Bradbury reprinted the 1973 first edition many times over subsequent years (seventh, thirteenth and later printings of the 1973 edition are recorded), so a true first PRINTING should show no later-printing statement or higher number on the…. US Bradbury Press first edition, first printing: red cloth-covered boards lettered in black on the spine, 159 pages, ISBN 0-87888-061-5, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. Book-club editions lack the flap price and are printed on lighter, bulkier stock; watch also for later Bradbury printings of the 1973 edition, which state a higher printing number.
• Blubber — 1974 · Bradbury PressTrue first is the Bradbury Press edition dated 1974 with a stated first printing and no later-printing statement on the copyright page. The first printing is bound in light blue cloth with yellow lettering to the spine. The first-issue pictorial dust jacket is predominantly red with white and black lettering and a front illustration, and should retain the original price on the front flap. US Bradbury Press first edition (ISBN 0878880720). Book-club editions lack the flap price and typically show a blind-stamp on the rear board; the true first is the stated-first-printing Bradbury Press issue in light blue cloth with yellow spine lettering.
• The Pain and the Great One — 1974 · Bradbury PressTrue first is the Bradbury Press picture-book edition of 1974, illustrated by Irene Trivas, with the full-color Trivas illustrations. First-issue dust jacket bearing the original price. The widely offered 1984 Bradbury hardcover (ISBN 0027111008) is a later issue, not the true first. US Bradbury Press first edition of 1974 is the true first; the 1984 Bradbury printing is a reissue. Book-club and later Dell/Yearling picture editions lack the printed jacket price and are not firsts.
• Forever... — 1975 · Bradbury PressTrue first is the Bradbury Press edition dated 1975 with no later-printing statement. First-issue dust jacket (illustrated by Janet Halverson) carries the original price on the front flap. Frequently challenged YA title. US Bradbury Press first edition. This is a young-adult novel, not her first adult novel. Copies in fine first-issue jackets are sought after. Book-club editions lack the flap price; many later Pocket and other paperback reprints circulate.
• Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself — 1977 · Bradbury PressTrue first is the Bradbury Press edition (Scarsdale) dated 1977 with no later-printing statement. First-issue dust jacket (designed by Bernard Colonna) carries the original price on the front flap; red linen boards. US Bradbury Press first edition; Blume's most autobiographical novel, set in 1947. Book-club editions lack the flap price and are printed on lighter bulk.
• Wifey — 1978 · G.P. Putnam's SonsTrue first is the G.P. Putnam's Sons edition dated 1978 with no later-printing statement; subtitled An Adult Novel. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price on the front flap. Blume's first adult novel. US G.P. Putnam's Sons first edition. Book-club editions lack the flap price and typically show a blind-stamp on the rear board.
• Superfudge — 1980 · E.P. DuttonDutton first stated on the copyright page with a complete number line and no later-printing statement. Orange cloth-backed boards, black spine lettering. First-issue pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Roy Doty bearing the original price. US Dutton first edition, first printing. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and often differ in binding or size; heavy paperback circulation exists.
• Tiger Eyes — 1981 · Bradbury PressBradbury Press (Scarsdale, NY) first dated 1981 with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket bearing the original price. US Bradbury Press first edition, first printing. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price.
• Smart Women — 1984 · G.P. Putnam's SonsPutnam (G.P. Putnam's Sons) first dated 1984 (ISBN 0399128409) with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket bearing the original price. Adult novel. US G.P. Putnam's Sons first edition, first printing. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price; a Putnam book-club issue also circulates.
• Just as Long as We're Together — 1987 · Orchard BooksOrchard Books first of 1987, 296 pages, trade issue ISBN 0-531-05729-1, with the first-printing statement / number line on the copyright page. Bound in quarter (half) cloth over boards, as issued by Orchard. The first-issue dust jacket bears the original printed price on the flap (present, unclipped, on a first-state jacket). Note that Orchard also issued a reinforced library binding under the separate ISBN…. US Orchard Books first edition, first printing, quarter-cloth over boards, trade issue ISBN 0-531-05729-1 (distinct from the library-binding ISBN 0-531-08329-2). Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and are typically bound in full paper-covered boards rather than the trade quarter-cloth.
• Fudge-a-mania — 1990 · E.P. DuttonDutton Children's Books (E.P. Dutton), New York, 1990; the first printing is identified by a full number line on the copyright page ending in 1. Fourth book in the Fudge series, 147 pages. Binding: bright yellow boards quarter-bound in a red cloth backstrip, with black lettering on the spine. The first-issue dust jacket is predominantly bright red and must carry the original printed price on the front flap. US Dutton first edition, first printing, identified by the number line ending in 1. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price on the front flap and typically omit the full number line.
• Here's to You, Rachel Robinson — 1993 · Orchard BooksOrchard Books first, New York, 1993. Bound in quarter blue cloth over orange paper boards with gilt lettering to the spine, and yellow endpapers and pastedowns; collation runs to roughly 196 pages. The first-issue dust jacket carries the original front-flap price, which should be present on an unclipped copy (clipping is a condition defect, not a later-issue point). US Orchard Books first edition. Later book-club editions typically lack the original printed jacket price and the first-printing markings, and can run to a smaller, more lightly bound format.
• Summer Sisters — 1998 · Delacorte PressDelacorte Press, 1998. First printing carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, ending in 1, with no added printing statement. Trade hardcover, 301 pages. The first-issue dust jacket bears the original printed price on the front flap. Blume's second adult novel. US Delacorte Press first edition, 1998, is the true first. Book-club editions typically lack the original printed jacket price, are often physically smaller/lighter with a blind-stamped rear board, and do not carry the full trade number line ending in 1; the priced jacket plus the 10-to-1 number line marks the trade first.
• Double Fudge — 2002 · Dutton Children's BooksFirst edition, Dutton Children's Books, New York, 2002 (ISBN 0-525-46926-5). The first printing carries a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Pictorial boards; first-issue dust jacket designed by Peter Reynolds bearing the original front-flap price. Collation runs to roughly 213 pages. Fifth 'Fudge' book. US Dutton Children's Books first edition. Book-club editions lack the original jacket price and full number line.

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