# Is "Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water" by Maurice Sendak a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1965) is identified by: Two illustrated nursery rhymes. US Harper & Row first, 1965 (post-1962 merger, so the Harper & Row imprint is correct).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Two illustrated nursery rhymes
- First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding
- An edition statement may be absent per Harper practice; the priced first-issue jacket is the operative point
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Maurice Sendak |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Two illustrated nursery rhymes |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Two illustrated nursery rhymes. First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding. An edition statement may be absent per Harper practice; the priced first-issue jacket is the operative point.

## Is this the true first?
US Harper & Row first, 1965 (post-1962 merger, so the Harper & Row imprint is correct).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water* by Maurice Sendak a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hector-protector-and-as-i-went-over-the-water
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.