# Is "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (with Dave McKean)" by Neil Gaiman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (with Dave McKean) by Neil Gaiman (White Wolf / Borealis, 1997) is identified by: Children's picture book, illus. US White Wolf/Borealis true first (1997); later HarperCollins editions (2004 onward) are reprints of the text.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Children's picture book, illus
- Dave McKean
- True first is the 1997 White Wolf Publishing / Borealis imprint issue, glossy illustrated boards as issued, 1997 on the copyright page with no later-printing statement; a small press run
- Publisher imprint reads White Wolf / Borealis
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neil Gaiman |
| Publisher | White Wolf / Borealis |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Children's picture book, illus |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Children's picture book, illus. Dave McKean. True first is the 1997 White Wolf Publishing / Borealis imprint issue, glossy illustrated boards as issued, 1997 on the copyright page with no later-printing statement; a small press run.

## Is this the true first?
US White Wolf/Borealis true first (1997); later HarperCollins editions (2004 onward) are reprints of the text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later HarperCollins reprints differ in imprint and ISBN.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (with Dave McKean)* by Neil Gaiman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-day-i-swapped-my-dad-for-two-goldfish-with-dave-mckean
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.