Animalia

The Australian edition is the true first — the census claim is correct, subject to one refinement: the place of publication is properly Ringwood, Victoria (Penguin Australia's base, in greater Melbourne), which dealers variously render as 'Melbourne' or 'South Yarra, Melbourne'. Viking Kestrel also issued the book in the UK in 1986. The US first is Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1987, and is separately collected as the first American edition; the NCACL guide notes the book 'was very quickly published overseas, including by Harry N Abrams, New York'. A Canadian Stoddart edition (1988) and a 1986 Puffin Australia softcover also exist and are 'first thus'. Cataloguing trap: the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Honour was awarded in 1987 for the 1986 book, and the award year is frequently mistaken for the publication year.