# Is "The Children Sing" by MacKinlay Kantor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Children Sing by MacKinlay Kantor (Hawthorn Books, 1973) is identified by: First printing of the Hawthorn Books edition, New York, 1973, in publisher's cloth with dust jacket. US first edition, Hawthorn Books, 1973.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing of the Hawthorn Books edition, New York, 1973, in publisher's cloth with dust jacket
- No distinctive textual issue points are documented for this title; identify the first by the Hawthorn imprint and 1973 date with no later-printing statements on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Hawthorn Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Publisher | Hawthorn Books |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing of the Hawthorn Books edition, New York, 1973, in publisher's cloth with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing of the Hawthorn Books edition, New York, 1973, in publisher's cloth with dust jacket. No distinctive textual issue points are documented for this title; identify the first by the Hawthorn imprint and 1973 date with no later-printing statements on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition, Hawthorn Books, 1973. This was among Kantor's last novels.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and any reprints would carry later dates or printing statements; no notable book-club issue is documented for the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Children Sing* by MacKinlay Kantor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-children-sing
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.