First Edition The Digging-est Dog

First Edition Identification

1967 B-47 The Digging-est Dog

Al Perkins. Eric Gurney (Illustrator). The Digging-est Dog. New York. Beginner Books: 1967.

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 tells of city dog Duke, newly adopted by county boy Sammy Brown. Duke learns to dig, and becomes the digging-est dog in the world.

Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title; [ii] copyright; 3-63 story; [64] blank; 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 57 years with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. Al Perkins wrote over 20 children's books in a career spanning decades. 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 3 first editions found in the March 2024 survey, with an average price of $47, ranging from $75 to $20.

First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions

Book Front: Bound in glossy paper covered boards with color illustration. "The / [Beginner Books logo top right} / Digging-est / Dog / BY AL PERKINS / ILLUSTRATED BY / ERIC GURNEY"

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

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

Book Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] PERKINS The Digging-est Dog / Gurney B-47 [black horizontal text]"

Title Page: "The / Digging-est / Dog / [illustration] / BY AL PERKINS ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC GURNEY / BEGINNER BOOKS / A Division of Random House, Inc."

Copyright: "(c) Copyright 1967 by Random House. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in New York / by Beginner Books, a division of Random House, Inc., and simultaneously in Toronto, Canada, by Random House of Canada, Limited. Library of / Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-21920. Manufactured in / the United States of America. Printed by Rae Publishing Co., Cedar Grove, N.J."

DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. "The / [Beginner Books logo top right} / Digging-est / Dog / BY AL PERKINS / ILLUSTRATED BY / ERIC GURNEY"

DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'R': 1967 4 Titles

"The Beginner Book story ... / [Large 'Cat In The Hat' image at left] / "Ten years ago, Dr. Seuss took 220 words, rhymed them, ... [... paragraph] / From this magically right beginning has developed the concept ... [... paragraph] / Elementary Educators all over the country ... [... paragraph] / Remedial reading specialists ... [... paragraph] / Is it any wonder that sales now total over 55 million? ... [... paragraph] / Among recent Beginner Book titles are: / THE BEAR SCOUTS, by Stan and Jan Berenstain ... [... paragraph] / [BB logo] / Beginner Books are also now / available in French-English and / Spanish-English"

DJ Spine: "[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] PERKINS The Digging-est Dog / Gurney B-47 [black horizontal text]"

DJ Price: 195/195

DJ Flap Front: "195/195 [top right] / The / Digging-est Dog / by AL PERKINS / Illustrated by Eric Gurney / [illustration] / This is the story of a dog called Duke ... [... paragraph] / Then come the happy day when... [...paragraph] / Troubles begin when the country dogs... [... paragraph] / Written in simple words, simple sen- ... [... paragraph] / The illustrations by Eric Gurney, al- ... [... paragraph] / This book comes from / the home of / THE CAT IN THE HAT / Beginner Books / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC."

DJ Flap Back: [Al Perkins photo} / [Three paragraph Al Perkins bio] / [Illustration of Eric Gurney ] / ERIC GURNEY Our illustrator and ... [... paragraph] / (c)Copyright 1967, by Eric Gurney"

First Edition Identification

First edition book states "Published in New York by Beginner Books, a division of Random House" on the copyright page and has 'B-47' on the spine.

First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1967 DJ 'R' with text marketing "The Beginner Book story ..." In the last paragraph six books are listed beginning with The Bear Scouts (1967). This final paragraph only lists 5 Beginner Books.

Second Printings and Later

Second printing book is identical to first printing.

Second printing DJ is Beginner Books 1969 DJ 'S' which is very similar to 1967 DJ 'R' except the last paragraph begins by listing 'MY BOOK ABOUT ME' (1969) rather than The Bear Scouts (1967).

Third printing book has the line '3 669' beneath the copyright statement.

BB-47 The Digging-est Dog Third Printing Copyright \

Third printing DJ is Beginner Books 1969 DJ 'S' which is very similar to 1967 DJ 'R' except the last paragraph begins by listing 'MY BOOK ABOUT ME' (1969) rather than The Bear Scouts (1967).

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.