# Is "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, 2007) is identified by: First printing carries the copyright-page statement 'First edition, March 2007' with the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; Scholastic Press imprint. The US Scholastic Press 2007 edition is the true first, dated March 2007 on the copyright page.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing carries the copyright-page statement 'First edition, March 2007' with the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- Scholastic Press imprint
- A thick novel in words and pictures, 533 pages plus a colophon leaf, Smyth-sewn with a loose-back binding so the doublespread illustrations lie flat across the gutter
- Original black boards have a white ornamental border and white-lettered spine; the pictorial dust jacket shows the golden clockwork-key motif against a dark full-moon sky, and the true first-printing jacket carries no Caldecott seal and retains its printed cover price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Scholastic Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Brian Selznick |
| Publisher | Scholastic Press |
| Year | 2007 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing carries the copyright-page statement 'First edition, March 2007' with the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing carries the copyright-page statement 'First edition, March 2007' with the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; Scholastic Press imprint. A thick novel in words and pictures, 533 pages plus a colophon leaf, Smyth-sewn with a loose-back binding so the doublespread illustrations lie flat across the gutter. Original black boards have a white ornamental border and white-lettered spine; the pictorial dust jacket shows the golden clockwork-key motif against a dark full-moon sky, and the true first-printing jacket carries no Caldecott seal and retains its printed cover price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scholastic Press 2007 edition is the true first, dated March 2007 on the copyright page. It was the first novel to win the Caldecott Medal (2008), so the first-printing jacket predates the medal and bears no seal.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the silver Caldecott seal to the jacket and no longer show the complete '10 9 8... 1' number line; book-club issues differ in binding and paper and lack the full number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Invention of Hugo Cabret* by Brian Selznick a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-invention-of-hugo-cabret
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.