# Is "The Enormous Crocodile" by Roald Dahl a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape, 1978) is identified by: UK Cape first dated 1978 with a single 'First published' statement. UK Cape true first (published 1 November 1978); US Knopf edition also 1978.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Cape first dated 1978 with a single 'First published' statement
- Issued in glazed pictorial boards illustrated in colour by Quentin Blake, with green endpapers; no separate dust jacket was issued
- This was the first Dahl title illustrated by Blake
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roald Dahl |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | UK Cape first dated 1978 with a single 'First published' statement |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Cape first dated 1978 with a single 'First published' statement. Issued in glazed pictorial boards illustrated in colour by Quentin Blake, with green endpapers; no separate dust jacket was issued. This was the first Dahl title illustrated by Blake.

## Is this the true first?
UK Cape true first (published 1 November 1978); US Knopf edition also 1978. First book of the long Dahl-Blake partnership.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a printing statement; the true first shows only the single 'First published 1978' line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Enormous Crocodile* by Roald Dahl a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-enormous-crocodile
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.