# Is "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) (Philomel Books, 2013) 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. 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Philomel Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) |
| Publisher | Philomel Books |
| Year | 2013 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing: Philomel Books, New York, 2013, illustrated paper-covered boards in the pictorial dust jacket, priced jacket with the price… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Day the Crayons Quit* by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-day-the-crayons-quit
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.