The Rankin Bass Hobbit Book

OK - so maybe this isn't a toy, but this is the book that turned me into a Hobbit fan. I had never read the book or heard of it until I received this copy for my birthday - probably 4th grade. Though there are many printed versions of the Hobbit, this one has over a 1000 illustrations taken from the Rankin-Bass produced animated movie version of The Hobbit.

I didn't see the movie until years later, but the Rankin-Bass style of the dwarves, goblins, and wood elves is what I always pictured the Hobbit to be. I especially liked the elves and would draw pictures of them based on this book.

Interestingly, I searched for the copy of this book on Ebay and Amazon for years. It wasn't until later I realized that the Rankin-Bass movie is what this book was based on. Once I figured that out, I was in for a shock. A copy of this version would typically run over $100 on Amazon. I didn't want to spend that much.

One day, out of sheer luck, someone listed it for a very fair price. I snatched it up immediately, hoping the seller wouldn't realize what they had in their hands.

Anyway, ....love this book. While Bridge Direct dropped the ball on Hobbit toys, it would be cool to see Super7/Funko release these retro figures as part of their ReAction line.