# Is "Freewater" by Amina Luqman-Dawson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022) is identified by: First edition 2022, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, James Patterson Presents imprint (New York); ISBN 9780316056618. US true first; no competing UK or Canadian precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition 2022, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, James Patterson Presents imprint (New York)
- ISBN 9780316056618
- First printing has a number line ending in 1 with a 2022 copyright
- Pictorial boards; first-state jacket without the Newbery seal
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Amina Luqman-Dawson |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Year | 2022 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition 2022, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, James Patterson Presents imprint (New York) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition 2022, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, James Patterson Presents imprint (New York); ISBN 9780316056618. First printing has a number line ending in 1 with a 2022 copyright. Pictorial boards; first-state jacket without the Newbery seal.

## Is this the true first?
US true first; no competing UK or Canadian precedence. Newbery Medal 2023; also Coretta Scott King Author Award.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A number line not ending in 1 indicates a later printing; post-award jackets add the seal.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Freewater* by Amina Luqman-Dawson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/freewater
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.