The Hobbit: Illustrated Edition

This is a beautiful edition!! The pages are a little glossy, very thick. Lots of illustrations that enhance my enjoyment of the book. Of course, the book itself is wonderful. This book takes place before the action of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. All four books are fantastic! Highly entertaining for all ages.

I’ve so enjoyed reading this beautiful book to my children. Of course the story itself is a classic and incredibly written, but my boys have also enjoyed the illustrations and I’ve loved seeing how beautifully put together the book itself is. The cover is beautiful, the pages are thick and lovely. Just all around a gorgeous book.

I just wanted to take the time to update anyone who is interested in purchasing this illustrated edition of The Hobbit. As you probably know, there aren't many illustrated editions of the hobbit and most that are illustrated aren't all that incredible. So far, my favorite edition has been the one by Alan Lee. I must say, it's hard to top his work. Alan Lee really helped bring the story to life for me when I first read this incredible adventure by Tolkien. However, because I believe that The Hobbit is a tale directed at the hearts of children and adults that are young at heart, I believe that Jemima Catlin's illustrated edition has topped even the great Alan Lee's. First off, the quality of this book is excellent. The book has been wrapped in cloth so the book feels high quality and soft to the touch. Also, the cover has a beautiful illustration from the book that includes carefully placed gold etching on the leaves, title, and author's name. This really gives the book a nice luster and shine. The book doesn't come with a book jacket and honestly I think that was smart based off of how high quality the book feels and looks. It just doesn't need a cheap paper jacket to cover such a beautiful looking book.The illustrations that are presented in the book are a thing of beauty. Not only are there a great many (every two or three pages or so) but they are incredibly colorful and really pop when you look at them. I do think the illustrator's style is to appear more colorful and simple at first glance, but at the same time you will look at the illustrations carefully and see the amount of time and effort that she put into this work. I love this style of simplicity and use of color. Though not the exact same style, I feel like it reminds me of illustrators like William Steig who just have this incredible knack for bringing out amazing details with small illustrations. In fact, I truly and desperately hope that Jemima Catlin will be commissioned for Lord of the Rings. If you happen to read this Jemima, I just wanted to say thanks for putting so much passion and hard work into this book. I look forward to reading this to my children someday and plan on using your version when I do! As a side note, I should mention that some of Tolkien's original maps are included in the front and back of the book.Lastly, it wouldn't be an appropriate review of The Hobbit without mentioning how amazing this story really is. If there is any part of you that believes in things like magic, risk-taking, adventure, friendship to the end, finding faith in the smallest of people or things, and good triumphing over evil, this is the book for you. I fell in love with the characters of this story and am thankful for authors like J.R.R Tolkien for having that God-given ability to captivate readers through these characters and the adventures they set out on. Every time I read this book I feel like I'm a kid again and that in itself is a great thing in my eyes. However, as an adult this book not only brings about those childhood feelings, but also strengthens my personal faith, and leads me to believe that those who truly live life to the fullest are those who go against the flow, take risks despite the fears or consequences when they know that it's in the name of doing what they feel is right inside of there hearts. I think there really is some of Bilbo Baggins in all of us and we learn a great deal from his adventure.If you cannot tell, I love this book. It is saying a lot for me that this is my favorite edition of the book so far. This truly is a high-quality, gift edition that you will be very proud to own. Don't hesitate to purchase! Thank you J.R.R Tolkien and Jemima Catlin!

I saw this book in my local B&N and made a mental note to get it for my son, who isn't yet an avid reader. He is reluctantly graduating from graphic novels to books without all those graphics. We're reading this book for our current book club read in our homeschooling co-op, and having illustrations every 2-3 pages is helping maintain his interest. We also downloaded an audio book version, so he can listen and follow along, and it's working out quite well.I'm impressed with the binding quality and the pages too. The presentation is appealing, and it's a top-notch product. A definite keepsake that looks great on the bookshelf, on the go, and anywhere you're reading it.

A classic story contained in a book appropriate for the tale. I bought this to read to my kids.I think it goes without saying, The Hobbit is a timeless story that is great for any age. We all enjoyed the included illustration.No complaints I can think of.Recommend

My six year old son loves this book. We’ve read it multiple times. The illustrations are fantastic and I wish more children’s books were like it.

Every child loves this hardcover version of The Hobbit. It has the best illustrations of any version.

My son is level 1 autistic (some describe it as high functioning) and was having trouble when any part of his life was not exactly as he wanted it. I figured it might be a long-shot, but this book is all about personal growth through a series of uncomfortable circumstances combined with imagination, so my hope was my son would want to take on some characteristics of Bilbo (the main character). I was concerned the writing might be hard for him to understand since he is only 8. I read it to him before bed each night for a bit over a month. At first it was hard for him to understand the writing style, but by the end, he was looking over my shoulder to read along and stopping me to ask questions. I think the illustrations were helpful to keep his interest in the beginning. He loved it and I think the message has stuck with him. Maybe he’s just growing generally, but after reading the book, he seems more flexible.