# Is "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wonder by R. J. Palacio (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, 2012) is identified by: Census claim confirmed. US: Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is identified on the copyright page, which reads "February 2012" followed by the number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" and then "FIRST EDITION"; the same page carries the Library of Congress control number 2011027133 and the Borzoi/Knopf imprint line
- The number line is decisive, not the words: the "FIRST EDITION" statement and the February 2012 date persist on later printings, which is why dealers routinely list copies as "the printed pricet ed., later printing" (one lists a 42nd printing) — the lowest number surviving in the line gives the printing, so a second printing's line begins at 2
- Collation per LC: 315 pages, 22 cm
- Trade hardcover is ISBN 978-0-375-86902-0; the simultaneous Knopf library binding is ISBN 978-0-375-96902-7 and is a separate issue, not the trade first
- Binding is quarter black cloth over blue boards with a blind-stamped "choose kind" device to the front and gilt/lime spine lettering; jacket art is by Tad Carpenter (copyright 2012), and the earliest jacket state is priced at the flap and carries no award or movie-tie-in banner
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | R. J. Palacio |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | The first printing is identified on the copyright page, which reads "February 2012" followed by the number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Census claim confirmed. The first printing is identified on the copyright page, which reads "February 2012" followed by the number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" and then "FIRST EDITION"; the same page carries the Library of Congress control number 2011027133 and the Borzoi/Knopf imprint line. The number line is decisive, not the words: the "FIRST EDITION" statement and the February 2012 date persist on later printings, which is why dealers routinely list copies as "the printed pricet ed., later printing" (one lists a 42nd printing) — the lowest number surviving in the line gives the printing, so a second printing's line begins at 2. Collation per LC: 315 pages, 22 cm. Trade hardcover is ISBN 978-0-375-86902-0; the simultaneous Knopf library binding is ISBN 978-0-375-96902-7 and is a separate issue, not the trade first. Binding is quarter black cloth over blue boards with a blind-stamped "choose kind" device to the front and gilt/lime spine lettering; jacket art is by Tad Carpenter (copyright 2012), and the earliest jacket state is priced at the flap and carries no award or movie-tie-in banner.

## Is this the true first?
US: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, published 14 February 2012 — the true first. UK: The Bodley Head, London, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-370-33228-4), issued about 1 March 2012, roughly two weeks later; it is collected in Britain as the first UK edition but does not contest precedence. Written in English; no original-language question.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The dominant reprint trap is the 2017 film tie-in edition (a different ISBN, 1-524-72019-4) and tie-in jackets on the Knopf hardcover — a jacket bearing movie imagery or award/blurb banners is later than the first state. Scholastic book-fair and book-club printings of the paperback circulate widely and are not the Knopf hardcover. Because the "FIRST EDITION" statement is retained across printings, a copy sold as "first edition" with no number line quoted should be assumed to be a later printing until the line is seen.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wonder* by R. J. Palacio a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wonder
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.