First Edition Are You My Mother?

First Edition Identification

1960 B-18 Are You My Mother?

P.D. Eastman. Are You My Mother?. New York. Beginner Books: 1960.

Pages#: 64 pages.

Book Description: Color illustrated boards wrapped in matching dust jacket. The 3rd in the Beginner Book series, written specifically to help children learn to read while simultaneously engaging and entertaining them. The story tells of a newly hatched baby bird's search for their mother. Told using only 100 different words.

One of the 'All-Time Bestselling Children's Books' according to Publisher's Weekly.

Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title; [ii] copyright; 3-63 story; [64] tree illustration; back free and fixed endpaper illustrated in color.

Collectibility Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is a Highly Collectible: Early book in ground breaking Beginner Books series, which changed the way children learned to read in America. Embraced by the public for 64 years with millions of copies sold. The 24th bestselling children's hardback of all-time. Eastman was the writer and artist for Mr. Magoo for a number of years, and won an Oscar for co-writing Gerald McBoing-Bong (Short-Subject, Cartoons). Little pop culture appeal.

The Collectibility of a first edition American picturebook is comprised of specific factors, as explained in detail at Factors Affecting Collectibility.

Scarcity Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Scarce: There were 2 first editions found in the March 2024 survey, with an average price of $600, ranging from $1,000 to $200.

First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions

Book Front: Bound in glossy blue paper covered boards with color illustration. "Are You / My / Mother? / By P.D. Eastman"

Note: Click on any of the book's images to see at larger scale.

Book Back: Bound in blue paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.

Book Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Are You My Mother? Eastman B-18 [black horizontal text]"

Title Page: "Are You / My / Mother? / [illustration] / Written and illustrated by / P.D. EASTMAN / BEGINNER BOOKS, INC. / Distributed by Random House"

Copyright: "(c) Copyright 1960 by P. D. Eastman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. / Published in New York by Beginner Books, Inc., and simultaneously in Toronto, Canada, by Random House of Canada, / Limited. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 60-13495. Manufactured in the United States of America."

DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. With added Beginner Books logo. "Are You / [Beginner Book logo top right] / 100 / WORD / VOCABULARY / My / Mother? / By P.D. Eastman"

DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'F': 1960 18 Titles

"[Cat In The Hat illustration top left] / I can read them / all by myself! / ELEMENTARY EDUCATORS from all over the country ... [... paragraph] / REMEDIAL READING SPECIALISTS have acclaimed... [... paragraph] / Books for Beginners (Average Reading Vocabulary - 210 words) / [list of 15 BB titles starting with 'THE CAT IN THE HAT' to 'THE KING'S WISH & OTHER STORIES'] / for BEGINNING Beginners / 50 word vocabulary 100 word vocabulary 100 word vocabulary / GREEN EGGS AND HAM PUT ME IN THE ZOO ARE YOU MY MOTHER? / DR. SEUSS ROBERT LOPSHIRE P. D. EASTMAN / Beginner Books, Inc. / DISTRIBUTED BY RANDOM HOUSE, 457 MADISON AVE. NEW YORK 22, N.Y."

DJ Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Are You My Mother? Eastman B-18 [black horizontal text]"

DJ Price: 195/195

DJ Flap Front: "195/195 [top right] / [Illustration] / ARE YOU / MY MOTHER? / by P.D. EASTMAN / Funny book ...? / Of course. / Everything Eastman writes and / draws is always funny. / But the really important thing is this: / He wrote this charming story / Using Only / 100 different words / Beginner Books proudly presents this / book as on of / A great new / Greatly Needed Series / for / Beginning Beginners/ This new series includes / GREEN EGGS AND HAME / by DR. SEUSS / (50-word vocabulary) / PUT ME IN THE ZOO / by ROBERT LOPSHIRE (100-word vocabulary"

DJ Flap Back: "[Caricature of P.D. Eastman} / Young readers know Phil ... [...paragraph] / Hollywood knows him as a ... [...paragraph] / Teachers know him as a fellow ... [...paragraph]"

First Edition Identification

First edition book states "Distributed by Random House" on the title/copyright page and has 'B-18' on the spine.

First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1960 DJ 'F' with 18 titles listed and "Distributed by Random House' with 'B-18' on the DJ spine.

Second Printings and Later

Second printing book is identical to first printing.

Second printing dust jacket is 1960 'F' version 'c' with "DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE".

Third printing book copyright with "A Division of Random House, Inc".

BB-18 Are You My Mother? Third Printing "A Division of Random House" \

Third printing dust jacket is 1960 'F' version 'c' with "DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE".

See Beginner Book Fronts for first edition identification of the first 50 Beginner Books.

This information is from the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books (2024, Flying Moose Books), by Stan Zielinski.

© Stan Zielinski
A serious collector having fun with fun books.