# Is "Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave" by Laban Carrick Hill (illus. Bryan Collier) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill (illus. Bryan Collier) (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010) is identified by: First printing has a number line counting down to 1; Little, Brown imprint; Bryan Collier collage and watercolor art; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2011. The US Little, Brown edition of 2010 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has a number line counting down to 1
- Little, Brown imprint
- Bryan Collier collage and watercolor art; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2011
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Laban Carrick Hill (illus. Bryan Collier) |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Year | 2010 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing has a number line counting down to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing has a number line counting down to 1; Little, Brown imprint; Bryan Collier collage and watercolor art; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2011.

## Is this the true first?
The US Little, Brown edition of 2010 is the true first. In 2011 it was named a Caldecott Honor Book, and Bryan Collier won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, so the true-first jacket predates the seals.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King seals; book-club editions differ.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave* by Laban Carrick Hill (illus. Bryan Collier) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dave-the-potter-artist-poet-slave
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.