Is My The Day the Crayons Quit a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: Philomel Books, New York, 2013, illustrated paper-covered boards in the pictorial dust jacket, priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
• The copyright page of the first printing carries a complete number line running down to the numeral 1; later printings drop the low numerals
• The number line is the only reliable check, because the 2013 'first edition' setting was reprinted heavily and dealers routinely catalogue eighth- and twelfth-printing copies that still read 2013 on the copyright page — a 2013 date, or a bare 'First Edition' slug, proves nothing on its own
• No first-state text error or binding variant is recorded in the dealer census consulted; nothing about the boards or endpapers separates printings

How Philomel Books marked a first edition

• Modern Penguin house style: full descending number line ending in 1; often 'First Impression' / 'First Edition' stated
• Philomel (founded 1980 by Ann Beneduce) follows the same number-line-to-1 rule

Full Philomel Books first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

Philomel Books (New York) published 27 June 2013; HarperCollins Children's Books issued the UK hardback (ISBN 9780007513758) within days, publisher listings giving 1 July 2013. This is therefore a near-simultaneous US/UK pair rather than a clean US-only first, and the census claim that the US Philomel printing is 'generally treated as first' matches what the trade does — but the margin is days, not months, and no bibliography was found that adjudicates it formally. The UK HarperCollins hardback is the first British edition and is collected in its own right; name both when describing the book. The 2014 HarperCollins paperback is not a first of anything, and the board-book, gift-set and Crayons Color Collection reissues are 'first thus' traps.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No hardcover book-club issue is documented for this title. The reprint field is instead dominated by Scholastic school book-club/book-fair printings and the later HarperCollins paperback, both trade reprints. Because every printing retains the 2013 copyright date, a copy can only be placed by its number line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Day the Crayons Quit a first edition?

A first edition of The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) (Philomel Books) is identified by: First printing: Philomel Books, New York, 2013, illustrated paper-covered boards in the pictorial dust jacket, priced jacket with the price present at the front flap.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Philomel Books (New York) published 27 June 2013; HarperCollins Children's Books issued the UK hardback (ISBN 9780007513758) within days, publisher listings giving 1 July 2013.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No hardcover book-club issue is documented for this title. The reprint field is instead dominated by Scholastic school book-club/book-fair printings and the later HarperCollins paperback, both trade reprints. Because every printing retains the 2013 copyright date, a copy can only be placed by its number line.

I have a first edition of The Day the Crayons Quit — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.