# Is "Prayer for a Child" by Rachel Field (text); Elizabeth Orton Jones (illustrations) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field (text); Elizabeth Orton Jones (illustrations) (The Macmillan Company, 1944) is identified by: The Macmillan Company imprint, copyright 1944. The US true first is the 1944 Macmillan issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Macmillan Company imprint, copyright 1944
- The first-printing copyright page carries both a 1944 Macmillan copyright and an earlier 1941 Macmillan copyright (the poem first appeared in 1941), with no notation of later printings
- The first-state dust jacket bears no Caldecott seal, as the medal was awarded in 1945
- Publisher imprint reads The Macmillan Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rachel Field (text); Elizabeth Orton Jones (illustrations) |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company |
| Year | 1944 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | The Macmillan Company imprint, copyright 1944 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The Macmillan Company imprint, copyright 1944. The first-printing copyright page carries both a 1944 Macmillan copyright and an earlier 1941 Macmillan copyright (the poem first appeared in 1941), with no notation of later printings. The first-state dust jacket bears no Caldecott seal, as the medal was awarded in 1945.

## Is this the true first?
The US true first is the 1944 Macmillan issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the Caldecott medal to the jacket and may note additional impressions on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Prayer for a Child* by Rachel Field (text); Elizabeth Orton Jones (illustrations) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/prayer-for-a-child
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.