# Is "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat (McClelland & Stewart, 1963) is identified by: True first is McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1963. Canada-first precedence trap confirmed: the McClelland & Stewart (Toronto) 1963 edition is the true first and precedes the US Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown (Boston) 1963 'First American Edition.' Both carry 1963, but the Canadian is primary; the US first is separately collected yet is not the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1963
- The decisive identification point is the dust jacket, which exists in two states: the FIRST-STATE jacket was designed by Lewis Parker and shows a comically drawn, oddly proportioned wolf (with a red-bearded, seated Mowat) against a white ground
- Mowat objected to it and it was withdrawn/recalled
- The SECOND-STATE jacket is orange, designed by Frank Newfeld, with a photograph of Mowat on the front panel, so a copy in the orange photo-jacket is a later state
- A true first in the recalled first-state Parker wolf jacket is the desirable issue; the book is catalogued as Spadoni & Donnelly 1696 in the bibliography of McClelland & Stewart
- Publisher imprint reads McClelland & Stewart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Farley Mowat |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1963 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1963. The decisive identification point is the dust jacket, which exists in two states: the FIRST-STATE jacket was designed by Lewis Parker and shows a comically drawn, oddly proportioned wolf (with a red-bearded, seated Mowat) against a white ground; Mowat objected to it and it was withdrawn/recalled. The SECOND-STATE jacket is orange, designed by Frank Newfeld, with a photograph of Mowat on the front panel, so a copy in the orange photo-jacket is a later state. A true first in the recalled first-state Parker wolf jacket is the desirable issue; the book is catalogued as Spadoni & Donnelly 1696 in the bibliography of McClelland & Stewart.

## Is this the true first?
Canada-first precedence trap confirmed: the McClelland & Stewart (Toronto) 1963 edition is the true first and precedes the US Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown (Boston) 1963 'First American Edition.' Both carry 1963, but the Canadian is primary; the US first is separately collected yet is not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later McClelland & Stewart impressions and the US Little, Brown/Atlantic printings follow the first. Reprint/later-state tell: presence of the orange Newfeld photo-jacket rather than the recalled Parker wolf jacket signals a second-state or later issue; US book-club printings exist with the usual blindstamp and unpriced flap.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Never Cry Wolf* by Farley Mowat a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/never-cry-wolf
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.