# Is "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (The Viking Press, 1941) is identified by: First edition: The Viking Press, 1941. US Viking is the true first; there is no competing earlier edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: The Viking Press, 1941
- Format is a tall, UPRIGHT (portrait) folio of about 9 x 12 inches — not oblong; original tan/beige cloth, sepia lithographed illustrations
- First-printing test: the copyright page reads 'First published August 1941' with no other printings listed
- The first-issue dust jacket has NO Caldecott Medal (McCloskey won the 1942 Medal) on the front panel or flap and retains the printed price at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert McCloskey |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1941 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition: The Viking Press, 1941 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition: The Viking Press, 1941. Format is a tall, UPRIGHT (portrait) folio of about 9 x 12 inches — not oblong; original tan/beige cloth, sepia lithographed illustrations. First-printing test: the copyright page reads 'First published August 1941' with no other printings listed. The first-issue dust jacket has NO Caldecott Medal (McCloskey won the 1942 Medal) on the front panel or flap and retains the printed price at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking is the true first; there is no competing earlier edition. Two tells mark the first issue: (1) the copyright page limited to 'First published August 1941' with no later-printing line, and (2) the pre-Medal jacket (no Caldecott Medal, price present at the flap). Because wartime reprints use similar tan cloth, identification hinges on the copyright statement and the medal-free jacket rather than the binding.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The second printing added the Caldecott Medal to the jacket flap; later trade and book-club printings update the copyright page (adding printing history) and their jackets carry the gold Medal and usually lack the first-issue price. The book block and cloth can look similar, so confirm a first by the 'First published August 1941'-only copyright line and the medal-free, priced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Make Way for Ducklings* by Robert McCloskey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/make-way-for-ducklings
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.