# Is "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Muñoz Ryan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic Press, 2000) is identified by: First printing with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; Scholastic Press imprint stated; original price on the jacket flap; the first-printing jacket carries NO Pura Belpré seal (the award postdates the first printing). The US Scholastic Press 2000 hardcover is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Scholastic Press imprint stated; original price on the jacket flap; the first-printing jacket carries NO Pura Belpré seal (the award postdates the first printing)
- Publisher imprint reads Scholastic Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Pam Muñoz Ryan |
| Publisher | Scholastic Press |
| Year | 2000 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; Scholastic Press imprint stated; original price on the jacket flap; the first-printing jacket carries NO Pura Belpré seal (the award postdates the first printing).

## Is this the true first?
The US Scholastic Press 2000 hardcover is the true first. It won the Pura Belpré Author Award in the 2002 cycle (the award was then biennial), so the true-first jacket predates the medal.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Scholastic book-club and classroom paperbacks are not firsts and lack the hardcover number line; later reprints add the Belpré seal to the jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Esperanza Rising* by Pam Muñoz Ryan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/esperanza-rising
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.