# Is "If I Ran the Zoo" by Dr. Seuss a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (Random House, 1950) is identified by: First printing has a seven-line copyright notice lacking the later Redbook Magazine acknowledgment line, seven previous Seuss titles listed on the rear panel (Bartholomew and the Oobleck at top, ending with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street), and the 200/200 price code on the jacket front flap. US Random House first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has a seven-line copyright notice lacking the later Redbook Magazine acknowledgment line, seven previous Seuss titles listed on the rear panel (Bartholomew and the Oobleck at top, ending with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street), and the 200/200 price code on the jacket front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dr. Seuss |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing has a seven-line copyright notice lacking the later Redbook Magazine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing has a seven-line copyright notice lacking the later Redbook Magazine acknowledgment line, seven previous Seuss titles listed on the rear panel (Bartholomew and the Oobleck at top, ending with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street), and the 200/200 price code on the jacket front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House first edition. Confirm via the seven-line copyright without the Redbook line, the seven-title back panel, and the 200/200 jacket price code.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the Redbook line to the copyright, revise the back-panel title list, and raise the jacket price code (250/250, then 295/295).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *If I Ran the Zoo* by Dr. Seuss a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/if-i-ran-the-zoo
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.