# Is "The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas" by Madeleine L'Engle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle (Ariel Books, 1964) is identified by: Ariel Books first edition dated 1964, red cloth boards lettered in gilt, illustrated jacket; illustrations by Inga. US first edition under the Ariel Books imprint (Ariel was the juvenile imprint of Farrar, Straus and Company).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ariel Books first edition dated 1964, red cloth boards lettered in gilt, illustrated jacket; illustrations by Inga
- An Austin Family picture-story book
- Publisher imprint reads Ariel Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Madeleine L'Engle |
| Publisher | Ariel Books |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Ariel Books first edition dated 1964, red cloth boards lettered in gilt, illustrated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Ariel Books first edition dated 1964, red cloth boards lettered in gilt, illustrated jacket; illustrations by Inga. An Austin Family picture-story book.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition under the Ariel Books imprint (Ariel was the juvenile imprint of Farrar, Straus and Company).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints lack the 1964 red cloth binding and the original illustrated jacket; book-club copies lack a jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas* by Madeleine L'Engle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-twenty-four-days-before-christmas
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.