J.R.R. Tolkien's own description for the original edition:

If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) — if you do not already know all about these things — much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period.

"A flawless masterpiece." The Times (London)

"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them." Sunday Times (London)

"All those, young or old, who love a finely imagined story, beautifully told, will take The Hobbit to their hearts." Horn Book Guide

"A finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls...an exciting epic of travel and magical adventure, all working up to a devastating climax." Observer (London)

From J.R.R. Tolkien’s own description for the original edition:

“If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. . . . In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did)—if you do not already know all about these things—much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period.” Featuring stunning new cover art by Caldecott Honor winning children’s book illustrator Peter Sís, this edition of The Hobbit has been specially formatted for young readers. Larger print size and wider margins provide reading ease for the youngest Tolkien fans. This quality digest edition also includes interior maps and original interior illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Featuring stunning new cover art by Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Peter Sis, this edition of Tolkien's classic tale of Bilbo Baggins has been specially formatted for young readers, with a larger print, wider margins, and interior maps and original interior illustrations by Tolkien. Young Adult.

J.R.R. Tolkien (18921973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.Peter Sis is an award-winning children's illustrator, filmmaker and author who grew up in Czechoslovakia and Prague. He studied filmmaking and painting in Prague and London and was sent to the United States in 1982 by the Czech government in order to film the 1984 Olympics, and stayed. Here he began to focus more on his illustration work, and one of his first jobs in America was animating a song for Bob Dylan for MTV. He lives in New York City with his wife Ten-y Lajtha, a documentary-film editor, and their children, who inspire many of his illustrations. His book Starry Messenger — Galileo Galilei was a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book, and has been published in many languages. He has also had nearly 1,000 drawings published in The New York Times Book Review.