First Edition Identification
Dr. Seuss Beginner Books B-23
1961 A Fish Out Of Water
1961 B-23 A Fish Out Of Water
Helen Palmer. P.D. Eastman (Illustrator). A Fish Out Of Water. 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. The story is written by Helen Palmer, the wife of Dr. Seuss, however is based upon his 'Gustav The Goldfish' (See Zielinski, Stan. Mar. 11, 2007. 'A Story Of Two Fish: Dr. Seuss Out Of Water'. Told using only 175 different words.
Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [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 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 63 years with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. Palmer, Ted Geisel's wife, was a successful children's book author. Eastman was the writer and artist for Mr. Magoo for a number of years, and won an Oscar for co-writing Gerald McBoing-Bong (Short-Subject, Cartoons).
This book would have higher collectible interest if more people knew the story was based upon Dr. Seuss's 'Gustav The Goldfish', see 'A Story Of Two Fish: Dr. Seuss Out Of Water'.
“[Seuss] gave Helen formal permission to write a Beginner Book from “Gustav the Goldfish,” which he had written in 1950 in his long-running series of children's stories for Redbook. “you have the right to use any of the situations of any of the words from the original story that your little heart desires. You must, however, comply with all the necessary steps in protecting my original copyright.” (See Morgan, Judith & Neil. 'Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel'. New York: Random House. 1995. pg. 168.). Little pop culture appeal.
'Gustav The Goldfish' by Dr. Seuss. June 1950 Redbook Magazine pgs. 48-51 \
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 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
Scarcity Context
The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Scarce to Uncommon: There was only 1 first edition found in the March 2024 survey, offered at $75. 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. “A Fish / Out of / Water / By Helen Palmer / Illustrated by / P.D. Eastman”
Note: Click on any of the book's images to see at larger scale.
Book Back: Bound in glossy yellow paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.
Book Spine: “[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] A Fish Out of Water Palmer B-23 [black horizontal text]”
Title Page: “A Fish / Out of / Water / By Helen Palmer / Illustrated by P.D. Eastman / [illustration] / BEGINNER BOOKS / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.”
Copyright: “(c) Copyright 1961 by Helen Palmer. 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: 61-9579. Manufactured in the United States of America.”
DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. With added Beginner Books logo. “A Fish / [Beginner Book logo top right] / Out of / Water / By Helen Palmer / Illustrated by / P.D. Eastman”
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] A Fish Out of Water Palmer B-23 [black horizontal text]”
DJ Price: 195/195
DJ Flap Front: “195/195 [top right] / [Illustration] / A Fish / Out of / Water / By Helen Palmer / A boy fed his goldfish too much! / What happened? Well the fish … [… paragraph] / Like all BEGINNER BOOKS, … […paragraph] / The delightful illustrations by the … [… paragraph]”
DJ Flap Back: “[Drawing of Helen Palmer} / [Two paragraph Helen Palmer biography] / [fish illustration] / [Two paragraph P.D. Eastman biography] / [Caricature of P.D. Eastman]”
Note: First printing does not have the line “(c) Copyright 1961 by Helen Palmer” at the bottom.
First Edition Identification
First edition book states “Published in New York by Random House” on the copyright page and has 'B-23' on the spine.
First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1961 DJ 'H' version 'b' with 24 titles listed See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books. and the back DJ flap does not have the line “(c) Copyright 1961 by Helen Palmer” 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
A Fish Out Of Water Second Printing Back DJ Flap with “(c) Copyright 1962 by Helen Palmer” \
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.