# Is "Happy Birthday to You!" by Dr. Seuss a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Seuss (Random House, 1959) is identified by: First-printing point: six white dots appear in the illustration on the birthday page ('Today is your Birthday'), removed in later printings. US Random House first edition, first printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First-printing point: six white dots appear in the illustration on the birthday page ('Today is your Birthday'), removed in later printings
- First-issue jacket priced 295/295 (the printed price) on the front flap, with the last two titles on the back flap being Yertle the Turtle and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dr. Seuss |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First-printing point: six white dots appear in the illustration on the birthday page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First-printing point: six white dots appear in the illustration on the birthday page ('Today is your Birthday'), removed in later printings. First-issue jacket priced 295/295 (the printed price) on the front flap, with the last two titles on the back flap being Yertle the Turtle and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House first edition, first printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the flap price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Happy Birthday to You!* by Dr. Seuss a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/happy-birthday-to-you
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.