# Is "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (David Fickling Books, 2006) is identified by: The first printing is the David Fickling Books hardback, ISBN 038560940X / 9780385609401, issued January 2006: octavo, approximately 215–216 pages, in grey cloth. UK precedes; the census claim is correct on precedence but needs one refinement it omits.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is the David Fickling Books hardback, ISBN 038560940X / 9780385609401, issued January 2006: octavo, approximately 215–216 pages, in grey cloth
- First printings carry the full Random House UK-style odd/even printer's key on the copyright page reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 — dealers commonly transcribe it run together as "13579108642" — and later impressions drop digits from the left, so a copy reading 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 is a second impression
- The David Fickling jacket has a striped light grey and blue-grey spine with black lettering and should be present and priced at the front flap (price present at the flap, unclipped)
- Copies are sometimes found with a white "First Edition" promotional sticker on the jacket front; that is a bookseller/marketing sticker and is not an identification point
- No first-state text errors are documented
- Publisher imprint reads David Fickling Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Boyne |
| Publisher | David Fickling Books |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is the David Fickling Books hardback, ISBN 038560940X / 9780385609401, issued January 2006: octavo, approximately… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing is the David Fickling Books hardback, ISBN 038560940X / 9780385609401, issued January 2006: octavo, approximately 215–216 pages, in grey cloth. First printings carry the full Random House UK-style odd/even printer's key on the copyright page reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 — dealers commonly transcribe it run together as "13579108642" — and later impressions drop digits from the left, so a copy reading 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 is a second impression. The David Fickling jacket has a striped light grey and blue-grey spine with black lettering and should be present and priced at the front flap (price present at the flap, unclipped). Copies are sometimes found with a white "First Edition" promotional sticker on the jacket front; that is a bookseller/marketing sticker and is not an identification point. No first-state text errors are documented.

## Is this the true first?
UK precedes; the census claim is correct on precedence but needs one refinement it omits. David Fickling Books, Oxford, January 2006 (catalogued at 5 January 2006; UK reviews appear from 3 January 2006), ISBN 9780385609401, is the true first. A SEPARATE Doubleday/Transworld hardback issue under ISBN 9780385611350 / 0385611358, with a different jacket, followed later in the same year and is a first-thus trap — same year, same country, but not the first. The first American edition is David Fickling Books / Random House Children's Books, New York, 12 September 2006, ISBN 9780385751063, which respells the title "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"; it is collected as the US first only, never as the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented for the 2006 UK first. The reprint traps here are the concurrent-year Doubleday issue (9780385611350) noted above and the later Random House Children's Books UK reissues, e.g. 9780857533937, which are reprints under new jackets and new ISBNs.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas* by John Boyne a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas
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.