The Hobbit: Illustrated by Tove Jansson

By: Tolkien, J. R. R.

A gorgeous new edition of The Hobbit featuring illustrations from Tove Jansson, creator of The Moomins, published in English for the first time.

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar

This landmark new edition of The Hobbit presents J.R.R. Tolkien's full text with illustrations by Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins, from a rare Swedish-language edition never before published in English. Jansson's tender, whimsical drawings illuminate Bilbo's journey -from the comfort of Bag End to the riddled dark under the mountain- adding fresh enchantment and quiet humor to every page.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063588765
• ISBN13: 9780063588769
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 352 Pages

Customer Reviews

This is a story that grows with the reader. Some things are missing in place of the graphics.

In a mythical or just forgotten time, many creatures lived in places like the Shire, home to Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit. Hobbits are comfort-loving creatures with no real sense of adventure. A knock on the door and Bilbo’s life is about to change. Calling this book a children's book is like calling "Alice in Wonderland" (see “The Annotated Alice”) a children's book. Yes, children can read this book, and it is fun. However, there is a lot more to this book than a cute story. And it has all the depth of the other Tolkien works except for being shorter. Many people look at this story as a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings,” when it is a stand-alone story with a perfectly good beginning, middle, and end. When you read "The Lord of the Rings," there is enough description to forgo "The Hobbit." I find that reading The Lord of the Rings first gave me an in-depth background to better appreciate The Hobbit. Many of the creatures and adventures will put you on the edge of your seat. You will recognize the personalities and grow along with Bilbo as he faces new challenges and learns to deal with life. An informative book to read first would be “The Power of Myth” by Joseph Campbell. Then you get a clearer picture of why the story progresses as it does.