First Edition Identification
Dr. Seuss Beginner Books B-15
1960 Bennett Cerf’s Book of Riddles
1960 B-15 Bennett Cerf’s Book of Riddles
Bennett Cerf. Roy McKie (Illustrator). Bennett Cerf’s Book of Riddles. New York. Beginner Books: 1960.
Pages#: 64 pages.
Book Description: Color illustrated boards wrapped in matching dust jacket. The 15th book in the Beginner Book series, written specifically to help children learn to read while simultaneously engaging and entertaining them. A book of riddles by humorist Bennett Cerf (President of Random House). Told using only 203 different words. One of the ‘All-Time Bestselling Children’s Books’ according to : 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 13th bestselling children’s hardback of all-time according to Publisher’s Weekly.
Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title and copyright; [ii] blank; 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 64 years with millions of copies sold. Made Publisher’s Weekly hardback list of All-Time Bestselling Children’s Books. 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 | Collect ibility | Illust. | 1st Early Late | Author | Awards | Pop Culture | Copies Sold | Fran chise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 |
Scarcity Context
The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Scarce: There were no first editions found in the March 2024 survey. This first edition is scarce, not rare, just that the market price is too low for copies to surface. And for one of the bestselling children’s book of all time!
First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions
Book Front: Bound in glossy gray paper covered boards with color illustration. “BENNETT CERF’S [red text in white box] / BOOK OF / Riddles / WITH DRAWINGS BY / Roy McKie [cursive]”
Note: Click on any of the book’s images to see at larger scale.
Book Back: Bound in gray paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.
Book Spine: “[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] BENNETT CERF’S BOOK OFf Riddles B-15 [black horizontal text]”
Title Page: [illustration] / “Bennett Cerf’s / Book of / Riddles / Illustrated by Roy McKie / BEGINNER BOOKS, INC. / DISTRIBUTED BY RANDOM HOUSE / [eight line copyright statement]”
Copyright: “(c) Copyright 1960 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: Manufactured in the United States of America.” Note lack of LCCN.
DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. With added Beginner Books logo. “BENNETT CERF’S [red text in white box] / [Beginner Book logo top right] / BOOK OF / Riddles / WITH DRAWINGS BY / Roy McKie [cursive]”
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 KINGS 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] BENNETT CERF’S BOOK OFf Riddles B-15 [black horizontal text]”
DJ Price: 195/195
DJ Flap Front: “195/195 [top right] / [illustration] / BENNETT CERF’S / BOOK OF / Riddles / All children love riddles. / But younger children, unfortu- … [… paragraph] / The words have always been / too difficult / So … Bennett Cerf has put to- … […paragraph] / (*To be exact: Mr. Cerf / has used only 203 / different words.) / RIDDLE-ICULOUSLY ILLUSTRATED / by the / Celebrated Roy McKie”
DJ Flap Back: “[Drawing of Bennett Cerf]/ [Two paragraph Bennett Cerf biography] / [Caricature of Roy McKie] / [One paragraph Roy McKie biography]”
First Edition Identification
First edition book states “Distributed by Random House” on the title/copyright page and has ‘B-15’ on the spine.
First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1960 DJ ‘F’ (See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books) with 18 titles listed and “Distributed by Random House’ with ‘B-15’ 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”. See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books
Third printing book copyright states “A Division of Random House, Inc”.
BB-15 Book of Riddles Third Printing “A Division of Random House” \
Third printing dust jacket is 1960 ‘F’ version ‘c’ with “DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE”.
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.