# Is "Henry and Ribsy" by Beverly Cleary a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary (William Morrow, 1954) is identified by: William Morrow first edition dated 1954 on the title page with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; illustrated throughout by Louis Darling, whose pictorial dust-jacket art depicts Henry and his dog Ribsy. US William Morrow first edition (1954) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow first edition dated 1954 on the title page with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; illustrated throughout by Louis Darling, whose pictorial dust-jacket art depicts Henry and his dog Ribsy
- Issued in publisher's cloth over an octavo binding; the first-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap and is not clipped
- Third book in the Henry Huggins series
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Beverly Cleary |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | William Morrow first edition dated 1954 on the title page with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; illustrated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
William Morrow first edition dated 1954 on the title page with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; illustrated throughout by Louis Darling, whose pictorial dust-jacket art depicts Henry and his dog Ribsy. Issued in publisher's cloth over an octavo binding; the first-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap and is not clipped. Third book in the Henry Huggins series.

## Is this the true first?
US William Morrow first edition (1954) is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club printings and later trade impressions lack the original printed jacket price and typically show reset or reduced-height boards; only the price-present, printing-statement-free jacketed Morrow copy is the 1954 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Henry and Ribsy* by Beverly Cleary a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/henry-and-ribsy
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.