The Hobbit 3D: A three-dimensional picture book by J. R. R. Tolkien

by John Howe

Delve into the incredible world of hobbits, wizards, and dragons in this exceptional visual adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic fantasy epic The Hobbit. This innovative pop-up book transports hero Bilbo Baggins, a small, quiet hobbit, through five adventures from the novel. Featuring beautiful illustrations, intricate paper engineering, and pull-out scrolls with excerpts, this unique edition is the perfect introduction to Tolkien's timeless tale and a must-have collectible for Hobbit fans of all ages.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Art, Young Adult, Fiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1999

About the author

John Howe is a Canadian book illustrator, living in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. One year after graduating from high school, he studied in a college in Strasbourg, France, then at the École des arts décoratifs in the same town.

He is best known for his work based on J. R. R. Tolkien's worlds. Howe and Tolkien artist Alan Lee served as chief conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and Howe also did the illustration for the Lord of the Rings board game created by Reiner Knizia. Howe also re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in 1996–2003. His work is not limited to this, and includes images of myths such as the Anglo Saxon legend of Beowulf (he also illustrated Knizia's board game Beowulf: The Legend). Howe illustrated many other books, amongst which many belong to the fantasy genre (Robin Hobb's books for instance.) He also contributed to the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. In 2005 a limited edition of George R. R. Martin's novel A Clash of Kings was released by Meisha Merlin, complete with numerous illustrations by Howe.

Howe has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.

For The Hobbit films, original director Guillermo del Toro and replacement director Peter Jackson both consulted with Howe and fellow conceptual artist Alan Lee to ensure continuity of design.

Howe is a member of the living history group the Company of Saynt George, and has considerable expertise in ancient and medieval armour and armaments.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John^^Howe

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hobbit is one of the greatest books ever written and is one of my absolute favourites. Pop up books are what they are. There's no substance here as you get with a book, but the illustrations and the pop up elements just make it a huge amount of fun. I'd say there's not much need to slide out the narration at either side, either, since the pictures tell your everything you need to know. I'll say that, though The Hobbit is a favourite, and the illustrations are lovely, and obviously the child in me is infinitely delighted with this, it lacked just a bit of the magic you get from the actual books due to Tolkien's storytelling prowess and imagination and that's why I couldn't bring myself to give it the top marks.



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[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

12 pages of awesome popups with art from my favourite Tolkien artist John Howe. The unexpected party, Mirkwood spiders, Smaug in all his magnificence, and the Battle of the Five Armies.
You can't expect to tell the whole story just by these couple of pages, but as a companion it's worth the price.

[Milva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I love the pop-up pieces and few moving pieces were a nice surprise. They are accompanied by the fragments of The Hobbit. I would't pay the original price for it though as there are only a small handful of art but as a charity shop's find it's a real treasure.

[Wild-Rogue-Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing says, "I love you, kids, here's a pop-up SPIDER."

On another note, lovely artwork.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Tolkien pop-up book? Yes, please. I mean, as if his creation of Middle Earth wasn't awesome enough, now we get a pop-up version!

And yes, I'm 43...what of it? Once a Tolkien fan, always a Tolkien fan.

[usui takumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is very impressive, this book is simply epic !!!
I get a part that left me stunned and left me speechless!!!

[Steve Clark]

Edition: 3rd