# Is "Many Moons" by James Thurber (text); Louis Slobodkin (illustrations) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Many Moons by James Thurber (text); Louis Slobodkin (illustrations) (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943) is identified by: Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943. The US true first is the 1943 Harcourt, Brace issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943
- The first printing is identified by a printer's code on the copyright page (a single capital letter sequence beginning with the earliest letter, used by Harcourt at this period), not by a 'First Edition' statement
- First-issue dust jacket carries no Caldecott seal (the medal was awarded in 1944) and bears a wartime war-bond advertisement on the rear jacket flap
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Thurber (text); Louis Slobodkin (illustrations) |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace and Company |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943. The first printing is identified by a printer's code on the copyright page (a single capital letter sequence beginning with the earliest letter, used by Harcourt at this period), not by a 'First Edition' statement. First-issue dust jacket carries no Caldecott seal (the medal was awarded in 1944) and bears a wartime war-bond advertisement on the rear jacket flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US true first is the 1943 Harcourt, Brace issue. A later edition was re-illustrated by Marc Simont (1990); that is a separate 'first thus' and is not the medal-winning first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the Caldecott medallion to the jacket. The Simont-illustrated edition is distinguishable by the different illustrator credit. Do not rely on a 'First Edition' statement to identify this title, as the original does not carry one.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Many Moons* by James Thurber (text); Louis Slobodkin (illustrations) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/many-moons
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.