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Background

I am looking for a version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander/J.K. Rowling that has drawings of (most of) the beasts detailed in the book.

What I found

In my local bookstore was the pocket version of the book, which doesn't contain images.

A possibility

Is this one:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Cover:

enter image description here

The issue

As I said, I only want to buy the book if I can find a version with drawings in it. The preview of the book mentioned above looks promising, but as I can't see beyond the first few pages, it's not enough to decide on.

So

can anyone confirm that this book does indeed contain drawings throughout the pages?

I checked with the owner of the bookstore and he didn't have anything like what I want available (or on record), he did however offer to order the book if I ever found the ISBN of a book I liked. But still, I can't ask that if I don't know I will like it.

PS: I'm looking for the companion book to the Harry Potter world (originally from 2001), not the screenplay on the film of the same name.

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    I don't think that book contains all the drawings you want. You might want to wait for the Illustrated Edition of the book on November 7, 2017. the-leaky-cauldron.org/2017/03/13/…
    – mikeRodz
    May 9, 2017 at 11:52
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    Although it may have less illustrations, I'd personally go with the original 2001 edition. I dislike most of the recent changes made to the text, and the original actually had illustrations drawn by Rowling herself.
    – ibid
    May 9, 2017 at 18:11

1 Answer 1

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Yes, it contains illustrations...

There was a Pottermore news post in January 2017 reporting a new edition of the textbook, featuring new beasts (from the film) and line illustrations:

Six new magical creatures will feature in this up to date edition, out on 14 March, as well as a brand new foreword from Magizoologist Newt Scamander and some beautiful line illustrations by artist Tomislav Tomic.

Augurey-eyed readers will notice the March 14 release date in that excerpt, which matches with the "publication date" on the Barnes & Noble page:

enter image description here

The page also contains a list of variant covers; the cover of the book you've provided is the Scholastic-specific cover:

enter image description here

Although they don't outright list ISBN numbers (and the provided link to B&N goes to the ebook edition, not the hardcover), I feel confident in linking them.

So yes, that edition would seem to have illustrations. The Bloomsbury Facebook page has occasionally posted samples of Tomic's drawings, including this one of a Thunderbird:

enter image description here

...but I recommend you hold off on ordering

An illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts was announced at some point (the earliest references I can find are February 2017). This edition will reportedly feature full-colour illustrations of each beast, which seems to be more in line with what you want:

This glorious new edition of Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (considered a classic throughout the wizarding world) features an extraordinary array of magical creatures, from Acromantula to Yeti via ten different breeds of dragon – all beautifully illustrated in full colour by the brilliantly inventive, Greenaway Medal shortlisted Olivia Lomenech Gill.

You can pre-order the book on the B&N website, where it is slated for release in November, 2017.

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  • That does indeed look promising, i'll wait.
    – Spikee
    May 9, 2017 at 12:13
  • Additionally, I have heard rumors that some of the new editions haven't adopted Tomislav's illustrations. I haven't tried confirming this.
    – ibid
    May 9, 2017 at 16:10
  • Curious - The original Comic Relief edition features few illustrations, but contains art meant to simulate the doodles and scribblings of Harry and Ron, the kind most students do in their books (less naked body parts, o'course) Do those doodles exist in later editions?
    – VBartilucci
    May 9, 2017 at 17:59
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    @Spikee Look, here's a preview from on Pottermore: pottermore.com/news/…
    – Obsidia
    Jul 10, 2017 at 16:18
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    @Bellatrix Something to look forward to :).
    – Spikee
    Jul 11, 2017 at 5:35

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