First Edition Bennett Cerf's More Riddles

First Edition Identification

1961 B-24 Bennett Cerf's More Riddles

Bennett Cerf. Roy McKie (Illustrator). Bennett Cerf's More Riddles. New York. Beginner Books: 1961.

Pages#: 64 pages.

Book Description: Color illustrated boards wrapped in matching dust jacket. An early book in the groundbreaking Beginner Book series, written specifically to help children learn to read while simultaneously engaging and entertaining them. A second book of riddles by humorist Bennett Cerf (President of Random House). Told using only 185 different words.

Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; verso of front free endpaper is 1st page of 2-page title; [i] title; [ii] copyright; 3-64 story; back free and fixed endpaper illustrated in color.

Collectibility Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is a Very Collectible: Early book in ground breaking Beginner Books series, which changed the way children learned to read in America. Embraced by the public for 63 years with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. Bennett Cerf was a humorist who appeared on the TV show 'What's My Line?' for 17 years, and was the President of Random House. McKie illustrated over 30 children's books. 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 Uncommon: There were 4 first editions found in the March 2024 survey, with an average price of $37, ranging from $44 to $33.

First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions

Book Front: Bound in glossy white-green banded paper covered boards with color illustration. "More Riddles / By Bennett Cerf / AND MORE DRAWINGS BY ROY McKie"

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

Book Back: Bound in glossy white-green banded paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.

Book Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] More Riddles Bennett Cerf B-24 [black horizontal text]"

Title Page: "RIDDLES / BY / BENNETT CERF / With drawings by Roy McKie / BEGINNER BOOKS / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC."

Copyright: "(c) Copyright 1961 by Bennett Cerf. 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: 61-11727. Manufactured in the United States of America."

DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. With added Beginner Books logo. "More / [Beginner Book logo top right] / Riddles / By Bennett Cerf / AND MORE DRAWINGS BY ROY McKie"

DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'H': 1961 24 Titles

"[Large Beginner Books logo] / A CHILD LEARNS TO READ... [... paragraph] / Books for / Beginners / Average Reading Vocabulary -- / 204 words / [list of 19 BB titles starting with 'THE CAT IN THE HAT' to 'LITTLE BLACK A PONY'] / for BEGINNING Beginners / [list of 5 BB titles starting with 'GREEN EGGS AND HAM' to 'ARE YOU MY MOTHER?' / BEGINNER BOOKS • A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC. / 457 Madison Ave, New York 22, N.Y."

DJ Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] More Riddles Bennett Cerf B-24 [black horizontal text]"

DJ Price: 195/195

DJ Flap Front: "195/195 [top right] / More Riddles / By Bennett Cerf / BENNETT CERF put together the ... [...paragraph] / And now he's done it again! / MORE RIDDLES (like its highly ... [... paragraph] / The humorous riddles in this collec- ... [...paragraph] / ROY McKie has added to the laugh ... [... paragraph] / MORE RIDDLES comes from the / home of THE CAT IN THE HAT: / BEGINNER BOOKS / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC."

DJ Flap Back: "['Q' illustration] / BENNETT CERF supplied all / the text for the questions / and answers in MORE RIDDLES / ['A' illustration] / ROY McKie supplied all the illustrations for the / questions and answers in / MORE RIDDLES / Mr. Cerf and Mr. McKie have col- ... {... paragraph] / Mr. Cerf worked on his portion of ... {... paragraph] / In spite of their geographical sep- ... {... paragraph]"

Note: First printing does not have the line "(c) Copyright 1961 by Bennett Cerf" at the bottom.

First Edition Identification

First edition book states "Published in New York by Random House" on the copyright page and has 'B-24' on the spine.

First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1961 DJ 'H' version 'b' with 24 titles listed and the back DJ flap does not have the line "(c) Copyright 1961 by Bennett Cerf" at the bottom.

Second Printings and Later

Second printing book is identical to first printing.

Second printing DJ is Beginner Books 1961 DJ 'H' version 'b' with 24 titles listed AND states "(c) Copyright 1961 by Bennett Cerf" at the bottom of the back DJ flap.

More Riddles Second Printing Back DJ Flap with "(c) Copyright 1961 by Bennett Cerf" \

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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.