One book I own that I wish was in perfect condition is a Rankin & Bass edition of The Hobbit (1977). It’s a coffee table book, perhaps designed to read with two or more children in and around your lap. The full text is included, so you won’t miss any details, except maybe those skewed by the illustrations.

I assume my parents bought this, and I don’t remember it being a gift to me. I just acquired it at the appropriate hour. My own children rough it up a good bit, as they have done with many books.

Each chapter begins with a full illustration on the verso or left-hand page.

When Gandalf brings the dwarves in two by two in order to avoid overwhelming Beorn, the pairs appear on the page in the margins.

With the image of the Goblin King, I can hear the deep bass voices that sang for them.

“Down, down, down, down, down underground.
Down, down to goblin town
you go, my lads!
you go, my lads!”

This being a cartoon, it had several songs. Glenn Yarbrough wrote the theme song, “The Greatest Adventure,” and sang in other songs too.

Look at that four-page fold out of the dwarves being taken hostage by wood elves! How much did this book cost to print?

Some of the illustrations are small sketches from preproduction. Others are styled as shots from your TV.

The face in that cave! Who makes animation like this today?