First Edition Identification
Dr. Seuss Beginner Books B-40
1965 I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
1965 B-40 I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
Theo LeSieg. B. Tobey (Illustrator). I Wish That I Had Duck Feet. New York. Beginner Books: 1965.
Pages#: 64 pages.
Book Description: Color illustrated boards wrapped in matching dust jacket. An early Beginner Books, where Theo LeSieg (a.k.a Dr. Seuss, a.k.a Theodor Seuss Geisel, where 'LeSieg' is author's last name spelled backwards) tells a fantastical story where a young boy wishes he had substitutes for his own body parts. A fun story told with a simple rhyming scheme.
Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title and copyright; 2-63 story; 64 small color 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 59 years with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. Theodor Seuss Giesel is the most successful children's book author/illustrator of all-time and has a strong collector interest. Barney Tobey was a successful cartoonist and illustrator for over 50 years. Written by Dr. Seuss under an alias, therefore some 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 | Collect ibility | Illust. | 1st Early Late | Author | Awards | Pop Culture | Copies Sold | Fran chise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Scarcity Context
The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Scarce to Uncommon: There were 12 first editions found in the March 2024 survey, with an average price of $677, ranging from $1,350 to $185.
First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions
Book Front: Bound in glossy paper covered boards with color illustration. “I Wish / [Beginner Books logo top right] / that I had / DUCK FEET / By Theo LeSieg / Illustrated by B TOBEY”
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] I WISH that I had DUCK FEET LeSieg B-40 [black horizontal text]”
Title Page: “[illustration] / I WISH / that I had / DUCK FEET / By Theo LeSieg / Illustrated by B. Tobey / BEGINNER BOOKS A Division of Random House, Inc. / [three-line copyright statement]”
Copyright: “(c) Copyright 1965 by Random House. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Pub- / lished 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: 65-21211. Manufactured in / the United States of America.”
DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. “I Wish / [Beginner Books logo top right] / that I had / DUCK FEET / By Theo LeSieg / Illustrated by B TOBEY”
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] I WISH that I had DUCK FEET LeSieg B-40 [black horizontal text]”
DJ Price: 195/195
DJ Flap Front: “195/195 [top right] / I WISH / that I had / DUCK FEET / by Theo. LeSieg / Illustrated by B. Tobey / The greatest sport of any child's child- / hood is wishing wishes … / … wildly imaginative, preposterous / wishes that couldn't possibly come true / [3 wishes] / The wilder the wish, the greater the … […paragraph] / This story is a gay, fantastic adventure … [… paragraph] / This book comes from / the home of / THE CAT IN THE HAT / Beginner Books / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.”
DJ Flap Back: “The illustrator: Barney Tobey / [Photo of Barney Tobey] / You've seen his warm, sympathetic, sa- … [… paragraph] / [Two paragraph Tobey bio] / * * * / [Three paragraph Tobey bio] / The author: / Theo. LeSieg is already well known to / the readers of Beginner Books as the / man who wrote TEN APPLES UP ON TOP.”
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-40' 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). See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books.No Beginner Book titles are listed.
It is a bit odd that a book with a 1965 copyright is published with the Beginner Books' DJ from the prior year. One can only surmise that Beginner Books decided to promote the BB Dictionary over the other books in the series. This first edition identification is consistent with the Younger/Hirsch Seuss Guide. [FN Younger, Helen and Marc. Hirsch, Dan. First Editions of Dr. Seuss Books. Saco, Maine: Custom Communications, 2002. Pg. 106.]
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 First Fifty Beginner Books for first edition identification of the first 50 Beginner Books.
See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs to see the chronological sequence of the Beginner Books dust jackets.
All of this information is sourced from the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books (2024, Flying Moose Books), by Stan Zielinski.