14 Maurice Sendak first editions are documented on this shelf, from Kenny's Window (1956) to My Brother's Book (2013) across 6 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Maurice Sendak title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Maurice Sendak copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Kenny's Window — 1956 · Harper & BrothersFirst book Sendak both wrote and illustrated. First printing is identified chiefly by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding (tan pictorial cloth with brown cloth spine). Any Harper copyright-page code is a two-letter month/year printing date; a first shows the earliest date consistent with the 1956 copyright and no later-printing code. US Harper & Brothers first, 1956. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price and may show a different binding.
- Very Far Away — 1957 · Harper & BrothersLike most Harper children's books of this era, the first printing carries no edition statement (only the 1957 copyright). It is identified by the unclipped first-issue color pictorial dust jacket bearing the original printed price with a photo of the young Sendak on the rear panel, and the correct green cloth binding. US Harper & Brothers first, 1957. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.
- The Sign on Rosie's Door — 1960 · Harper & BrothersFirst printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding. Consistent with Harper children's books of the period, an edition statement is often absent; any Harper copyright-page code is a two-letter month/year printing date, so a first shows a date consistent with the 1960 copyright and no later-printing code. US Harper & Brothers first, 1960. The Harper & Brothers to Harper & Row merger did not occur until April 1962, so 1960 firsts bear the Harper & Brothers imprint; some later listings loosely catalog it as Harper & Row. Rosie later inspired the 'Really Rosie' character. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.
- Where the Wild Things Are — 1963 · Harper & RowFirst-issue dust jacket carries NO Caldecott Medal seal on the front panel (the medal was awarded in 1964, after publication) and NO mention of the award on the rear flap. Jacket points: the codes '40-80' and '1163' on the front flap (1163 = November 1963); price present on the flap; and three paragraphs of blurb on the front flap (about the story) with three on the rear flap (about Sendak). The title page…. US Harper & Row, 1963, is the true first (the UK Bodley Head edition followed years later). The single most reliable point is a first-issue jacket with NO Caldecott Medal seal. After the 1964 Caldecott award the publisher recalled the edition and re-jacketed it with a medal jacket (now only two blurb paragraphs on the front flap, and the award noted on the rear), so a first-printing book can be found in either…. A jacket bearing the gold Caldecott Medal seal is the second (post-1964) jacket issue — and because some first-printing sheets were recalled and re-jacketed this way, judge the book by its copyright/title-page points and judge the jacket by the medal. Book-club editions carry the medal, show no price on the flap, and are printed and bound more cheaply.
- Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water — 1965 · Harper & RowTwo illustrated nursery rhymes. First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding. An edition statement may be absent per Harper practice; the priced first-issue jacket is the operative point. US Harper & Row first, 1965 (post-1962 merger, so the Harper & Row imprint is correct). Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.
- Higglety Pigglety Pop! or, There Must Be More to Life — 1967 · Harper & RowFirst printing has 1967 on the copyright page with no statement of a later printing, no 'First Edition' slug, and no number line on the final leaf (Harper & Row did not begin adding number lines until 1969). First-issue jacket carries the original price and the early, short list of Sendak titles on the rear flap; longer title lists indicate later printings. Brown cloth with a color pictorial pastedown label of…. The US Harper & Row 1967 edition is the true first; the Bodley Head UK edition is later. The first printing precedes any book-club state. Book-club issues use cheaper boards, are commonly slightly reduced in trim, often lack the price on the jacket, and frequently carry a circular blind-stamp on the rear board.
- In the Night Kitchen — 1970 · Harper & RowFirst-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap with the code '1070' at the lower front flap and exactly seven titles listed on the rear flap; no Caldecott Honor seal is printed on the jacket (added on later printings). Bound in cream cloth with the pictorial paste-on label to the front board. The US Harper & Row 1970 edition is the true first; Sendak was American and Harper was his primary publisher, and the Bodley Head UK edition followed. The book was a 1971 Caldecott Honor recipient, so first-issue jackets predate any Caldecott seal. Book-club editions are smaller, lack the '1070' jacket code and the printed price, are printed on thinner paper, and often have a blind-stamped indentation on the rear board; later printings add the Caldecott Honor seal to the jacket.
- Some Swell Pup, or Are You Sure You Want a Dog? — 1976 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and Giroux first-printing convention: 'First edition' stated on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price and is unclipped. Brown cloth binding; illustrated by Sendak in comic-strip format. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition is the true first; co-authored with dog trainer Matthew Margolis, who supplied the training text. Later and book-club states typically lack the original jacket price.
- Seven Little Monsters — 1977 · Harper & RowUS first: Harper & Row copyright page states 'First Edition' accompanied by a number line; first-issue dust jacket retains its original unclipped printed price. Oblong format with pictorial boards, illustrated in color. The true first edition is the German-language original, 'Die Geschichte von den Sieben Kleinen Riesen,' published by Diogenes Verlag, Zurich, in 1975 (translated by Gerd Haffmans). The Harper & Row edition of 1977 is the first US and first English-language edition, not the overall first. The text derives from a Sendak animation made for Sesame Street. Book-club and later Harper printings may retain the 'First Edition' slug (Harper sometimes failed to remove it) but typically lack the correct number line and original jacket price.
- Outside Over There — 1981 · Harper & RowFirst printing has NO printing number on the copyright page; later printings add a small numeral (a '(2)' on the copyright page marks the second printing). First-issue jacket retains the original price. Red cloth boards with gilt titling to the front board and spine, oblong format, unpaginated. Completes Sendak's picture-book trilogy with Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. The US Harper & Row 1981 edition is the true first; the Bodley Head UK edition is later. Book-club editions lack the original jacket price, are often slightly reduced in trim size, and carry a blind-stamp on the rear board.
- Dear Mili (text by Wilhelm Grimm) — 1988 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and Giroux first, first printing: 'First edition' stated on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket retains its original unclipped printed price. Oblong format; gray cloth blind-stamped on the front, spine stamped in gilt, pale-pink endpapers. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition, translated by Ralph Manheim, is the true first; illustrated by Sendak from a long-unpublished Wilhelm Grimm tale. Later and book-club states typically lack the original jacket price.
- We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy — 1993 · HarperCollinsHarperCollins first, first printing: copyright page states 'First Edition' with a complete number line descending to 1. First-issue dust jacket retains its original unclipped printed price. Hand-lettering by Jeanette Wong. US HarperCollins (Michael di Capua Books) edition is the true first. Book-club and later states typically lack the original jacket price and the full number line to 1.
- Bumble-Ardy — 2011 · HarperCollinsHarperCollins first, first printing: copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full number line ending in 1. First-issue dust jacket is unclipped with its original printed price. Green cloth with pictorial paste-on and green endpapers. His last book written and illustrated in his lifetime. US HarperCollins (Michael di Capua Books) edition is the true first. Book-club states are uncommon; when present they typically lack the original jacket price and the number line to 1.
- My Brother's Book — 2013 · HarperCollinsHarperCollins first, first printing: copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full number line descending to 1. First-issue dust jacket is unclipped with its original printed price. Published posthumously; includes a foreword by Stephen Greenblatt. US HarperCollins (Michael di Capua Books) edition is the true first, published in 2013 following Sendak's death in 2012. Not a book-club title; issued in a single trade first edition.
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