First Edition Why I Built The Boogle House

First Edition Identification

1964 B-35 Why I Built The Boogle House

Helen Palmer. Lynn Fayman (photos) (Illustrator). Why I Built The Boogle House. New York. Beginner Books: 1964.

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. The story, by Helen Palmer, the wife of Dr. Seuss, is a photographic journey as a young boy starts by building a small house for his per turtle, to ever increasingly expanding it up to housing a horse.

Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title; [ii] copyright; [iii] half-title; [iv] blank orange; 3-63 story; last page of story is on the recto of back free endpaper; back free and fixed endpaper illustrated in color.

Collectibility Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is a Solid Collectible: Early book in ground breaking Beginner Books series, which changed the way children learned to read in America. Embraced by the public for 60 years with tens of thousands of copies sold. Palmer, Ted Geisel's wife, was a successful children's book author. Lynn Fayman was a very successful photographer whose work was recognized by the La Jolla Museum of art with 'The Photographic Art Of Lynn Fayman' (1969). 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 to Uncommon: There were no first editions found in the March 2024 survey. This first edition is not scarce, just that the market price is too low for copies to surface.

First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions

Book Front: Bound in glossy white paper covered boards with color illustration. "Why I Built the / [Beginner Books logo top right] / BOOGLE HOUSE / By Helen Palmer / with photographs by Lynn Fayman"

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

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

Book Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Why I Built the Boogle House Palmer B-35 [black horizontal text]"

Title Page: "Why / I / Built / the / Boogle House / by / Helen Palmer / with photographs by / Lynn Fayman / BEGINNER BOOKS A Division of Random House, Inc."

Copyright: "(c) Copyright 1964 by Helen Palmer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven- / tions. Published in New York by Random House, Inc., and simultaneously in Toronto, Canada, by Random House of / Canada, Limited. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-11459. Manufactured in / the United States of America."

DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. "Why I Built the / [Beginner Books logo top right] / BOOGLE HOUSE / By Helen Palmer / with photographs by Lynn Fayman"

DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'M': 1964 No BB Titles

"[The Cat In The Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (1964) front cover] / Here is where / BEGINNING/ READERS / really begin / to read! / [four-lines starting with 'This amazing Dictionary by the Cat in the Hat' / These words are introduced to your ... [... paragraph] / The beginner starts in by "read- ... [... paragraph] / [two paragraphs in orange slanted box as follows: ] The dictionary will help prepare ... [... paragraph] / Beginner Books are a delight to ... [... paragraph]"

DJ Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Why I Built the Boogle House Palmer B-35 [black horizontal text]"

DJ Price: 195/195

DJ Flap Front: "195/195 [top right] / Why I Built The / Boogle House / By Helen Palmer / With photographs by / Lynn Fayman / This is the story about the Pet House ... [... paragraph] / That's how it went ... with kittens ... [...paragraph] / And what is a Boogle! In this book ... [... paragraph] / Helen Palmer tells her tale in simple ... [... paragraph] / She tells it with the basic simple ... [... paragraph] / This book comes from / the home of / THE CAT IN THE HAT / Beginner Books / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC"

DJ Flap Back: "Other Beginner Books / by Helen Palmer / I was / Kissed / by a Seal / at the / Zoo / [New York Times blurb] / Do you know / what I'm going to do / Next / Saturday? / [New York Times blurb] / A Fish / Out Of / Water / [Dr. Marie M. Hughes blurb] / (c) 1964 by Helen Palmer"

First Edition Identification

First edition book states "Published in New York by Random House" on the copyright page and has 'B-35' on the spine.

First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1964 DJ 'M' with an advertisement for The Cat In The Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (1964). No Beginner Book titles are listed.

BB DJ 'M' (advertising the 1964 Beginner Book Dictionary) is the first edition DJ for five Beginner Books, spanning 1964 & 1965 publications: B-35, B-36, B-37, B-39, & B-40.

The outlier is 1965's B-38 Fox In Socks which uses BB DJ 'N'. While BB DJ 'N' lists all 37 Beginner Books published from 1957-to-1964 inclusive, and does not list any 1965 titles, I still consider it the 1965 Beginner Books dust jacket since it was first used on 1965's Fox In Socks.

Second Printings and Later

Second printing book is identical to first printing.

Second printing DJ is Beginner Books 1965 DJ 'N' with 37 titles listed.

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.