# Is "Flip-Flop Girl" by Katherine Paterson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Flip-Flop Girl by Katherine Paterson (Lodestar Books, 1994) is identified by: True first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1994 (quarter cloth over paper-covered boards). US Lodestar Books/Dutton edition is the true first; published first in the United States.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1994 (quarter cloth over paper-covered boards)
- First printings show the copyright-page number line ending in 1 and a jacket with its original printed price
- Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and number line
- Publisher imprint reads Lodestar Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Katherine Paterson |
| Publisher | Lodestar Books |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | True first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1994 (quarter… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1994 (quarter cloth over paper-covered boards). First printings show the copyright-page number line ending in 1 and a jacket with its original printed price. Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and number line.

## Is this the true first?
US Lodestar Books/Dutton edition is the true first; published first in the United States.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Flip-Flop Girl* by Katherine Paterson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/flip-flop-girl
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.