# Is "The Wolves in the Walls (with Dave McKean)" by Neil Gaiman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Wolves in the Walls (with Dave McKean) by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 2003) is identified by: Children's picture book, illus. US and UK editions both appeared in 2003; commonly treated as co-firsts, with the US HarperCollins printing the standard collected issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Children's picture book, illus
- Dave McKean
- US HarperCollins first printing has a full number line 1 through 10 (including 1) on the copyright page; color pictorial boards with black endpapers
- UK Bloomsbury edition also 2003
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neil Gaiman |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Children's picture book, illus |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Children's picture book, illus. Dave McKean. US HarperCollins first printing has a full number line 1 through 10 (including 1) on the copyright page; color pictorial boards with black endpapers. UK Bloomsbury edition also 2003.

## Is this the true first?
US and UK editions both appeared in 2003; commonly treated as co-firsts, with the US HarperCollins printing the standard collected issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings drop the 1 from the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Wolves in the Walls (with Dave McKean)* by Neil Gaiman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-wolves-in-the-walls-with-dave-mckean
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.