First Edition Identification
Dr. Seuss Beginner Books B-37
1964 How To Make Flibbers
1964 B-37 How To Make Flibbers
Robert Lopshire. How To Make Flibbers. 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 book tells children how to make flibbers, humdingers, whirligigs, and a number of other playful things.
Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; verso of front free endpaper 1st page of 2-page title; [i] title; [ii] copyright; [iii] half-title; 2-61 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 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 hundreds of thousands of copies sold. The author/illustrator was highly successful in the children's book market for 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 | Collect ibility | Illust. | 1st Early Late | Author | Awards | Pop Culture | Copies Sold | Fran chise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
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 $105, ranging from $175 to $50. 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 paper covered boards with color illustration. “How to / [Beginner Books logo top right} / Make Flibbers, / etc. / A BOOK OF THINGS / TO MAKE AND DO / by / Robert Lopshire”
Note: Click on any of the book's images to see at larger scale.
Book Back: Bound in glossy red-yellow banded paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.
Book Spine: “[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] How to Make Flibbers, etc. Lopshire B-37 [black horizontal text]”
Title Page: “How To / Make Flibbers, / etc. / A BOOK OF THINGS / TO MAKE AND DO / By / Robert Lopshire / BEGINNER BOOKS A Division of Random House, Inc. “
Copyright: “To my four favorite Flibber Makers, Martin, Howard, Terry and Vicky / (c) Copyright 1964 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: 64-22011. Manufactured in / the United States of America.”
DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. “How to / [Beginner Books logo top right} / Make Flibbers, / etc. / A BOOK OF THINGS / TO MAKE AND DO / by / Robert Lopshire”
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] How to Make Flibbers, etc. Lopshire B-37 [black horizontal text]”
DJ Price: 195/195
DJ Flap Front: “195/195 [top right] / How to / Make Flibbers, / etc, / by / Robert Lopshire / [Illustration] / Children's hands make wonderful … [… paragraph] / This book is full of exciting gee-gaws … […paragraph] / The author learned to make these … [… paragraph] / And he explains it all in Beginner Book / this book comes from / the home of / THE CAT IN THE HAT / Beginner Books / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.”
DJ Flap Back: “[Photo of Robert Lopshire} / [Five paragraph Robert Lopshire biography] / (c) by Robert Lopshire”
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-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). See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books.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. No Beginner Book titles are listed. See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books.
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.