# Is "The Little Island" by Golden MacDonald (pseudonym of Margaret Wise Brown); Leonard Weisgard (illustrations) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Little Island by Golden MacDonald (pseudonym of Margaret Wise Brown); Leonard Weisgard (illustrations) (Doubleday & Company, 1946) is identified by: Doubleday & Company (Junior Books) imprint, Garden City, New York, copyright 1946, with the words 'FIRST EDITION' printed on the copyright page and the author credited as 'Golden MacDonald.' First-issue dust jacket is unclipped and carries no Caldecott seal, as the medal was awarded in 1947. The US true first is the 1946 Doubleday trade issue under the Golden MacDonald pseudonym.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Doubleday & Company (Junior Books) imprint, Garden City, New York, copyright 1946, with the words 'FIRST EDITION' printed on the copyright page and the author credited as 'Golden MacDonald.' First-issue dust jacket is unclipped and carries no Caldecott seal, as the medal was awarded in 1947
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Golden MacDonald (pseudonym of Margaret Wise Brown); Leonard Weisgard (illustrations) |
| Publisher | Doubleday & Company |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Doubleday & Company (Junior Books) imprint, Garden City, New York, copyright 1946, with the words 'FIRST EDITION' printed on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Doubleday & Company (Junior Books) imprint, Garden City, New York, copyright 1946, with the words 'FIRST EDITION' printed on the copyright page and the author credited as 'Golden MacDonald.' First-issue dust jacket is unclipped and carries no Caldecott seal, as the medal was awarded in 1947.

## Is this the true first?
The US true first is the 1946 Doubleday trade issue under the Golden MacDonald pseudonym. Critically, the Junior Literary Guild book-club issue also bears the 'FIRST EDITION' statement, so that wording alone does not prove a trade first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Junior Literary Guild issue is identified by a Junior Literary Guild designation on the title page and on the lower front jacket flap; despite carrying the 'First Edition' wording, it is a book-club issue and not the trade first. Later printings add the Caldecott seal to the jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Little Island* by Golden MacDonald (pseudonym of Margaret Wise Brown); Leonard Weisgard (illustrations) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-little-island
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.