Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

DO NOT BUY!!! I got the kindle version for the animated artwork, but on my kindle all I can see is text. Apparently the artwork only works on some devices, but they never tell you that ahead of time. DO NOT BUY!!! DO NOT BUY!!!

This was a good read. Not at all what I expected. Rather than a story, I got a wizards analysis and classification of many beasts from the Harry Potter world. Perhaps I should have read a description first.

Idc what anyone says. This book is just beautiful. I knew it was by a different illustrator then the HP books and so was expecting a different take on it. I love the way it was illustrated. I can easily imagine that this was the same textbook that Hogwarts students took to school. Beautifully done. And much more then what I was expecting. My only complaint would be the lack of a dust jacket and that it's a different size then the other illustrated books which make them look less as neat on a bookshelf. Bit still way more then worth it

This book is so Beautiful. I myself have never been a fan of J.K. Rowling (I know dont hate me) but I got this for my son for Christmas and I have enjoyed reading it with him! The pictures are so great!

This book should've been called a sketchbook, not an illustrated edition. The "illustrations" are basically drawn/sketched outlines filled in with watercolors - and, in most of them, you can clearly see all the sketched outlines etc. If you like that kind of thing, you'll probably love the book - but if you're looking for more refined, detailed illustrations...you're not really going to get what you want here, I think.

Leaving aside more comments about the shoddy packaging from the store that required multiple replacements of this book (which, btw, if
you run into this please go back to your order page and leave packaging feedback so that the store will hopefully get it right one of these days!!)...

I'm sorry to say that I'm not at all impressed with this book. First of all, why is there no dust jacket for a book that retails, full price, for $35? Secondly, while I myself would not presume to be able to do better, I found the illustrations mostly uninteresting and rudimentary. I've seen YouTubers do better illustrations in their bullet journals - begging the question: why was this particular illustrator selected and/or is the sketch-like nature of the illustrations deliberate?

I, personally, share the opinion of other less-than-thrilled reviewers that I expected something a lot more "fantastical", more awe-inducing, then what's being offered in this book. One of the worst ones has to be of the Bowtruckle - which anyone who's a fan of the movie will remember as Newt Scamander's little pocket-traveling friend - and which you practically have to take a magnifying glass to search for on page 9, inexplicably offering a loose illustration of a forest scene with a camp fire, dog and a man sawing a log. Only after looking all over did I see the Bowtruckle - inexplicably drawn in a dingy, dirty brown color and hanging out, like an afterthought, on one of the trees.

I really, really HATED some of the "I'll just do a quick sketch and slap some random watercolors on it" effect of some of the "illustrations", especially the Acromantula at the beginning of the book - I'm sorry but that is just awful. The Chimera is also nothing to write home about and made me think the same thing that another reviewer mentioned, that a lot of the illustrations are bordering on the banal with little addition to make them "fantastic".

I realize that, like any creative endeavor, illustrations are highly subjective. But this book really is a far cry from what one would expect in relation to the Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts worlds. There's no expansion on anything - and for a large hardcover book, I found it incredibly disappointing that there weren't more detailed illustrations of the more prominent beasts from the movie. The whole approach just left me feeling rather bored.

The only reason I gave this three stars instead of one is because there are some illustrations I thought were nice - such as the Basilisk which, honestly, doesn't look much like the one in the second movie but is still well done IMO. The Centaur illustration is also very good, as are the dragons.

All in all, I think this is a very, very disappointing book - especially for being part of such a widely loved franchise. Given the plethora of amazing artists, including illustrators, I really have to question the choice for this book. I hope that, in the future, there will be a more appropriately imaginative, awe-inducing version.

Beautifully illustrated-a delight to read! Though I am 55, I have never had this much fun reading these books in motion. I wish they had been around when I was younger-I certainly would have read more! I hope they decide to do all of her Harry Potter books. I have the sorcerers stone in motion and I hope they do the chamber of secrets and prisoner of askaban as well. Very fun for people of all ages!

The illustrations are good and the animations really make this feel like a wizarding book. However, I am removing a star since the descriptions of many of the beasts are based on the closest thing Muggles would recognize giving the work a rather rushed commercial feel. It would have been much cooler if it were written more like a scientific field guide. Something else I disliked were footnotes referencing books that have not been written, such as A History of Magic. This book does not include all the beasts in the original series, but includes several that are unique to Fantastic Beasts. Overall, this book did a good job of explaining key details and desirable properties of magical creatures and is a must gave for any Harry Potter fan.

This is a wonderfully written book, but the illustrations just don't do justice to the subject. Many of them seem very dark, and may not be appropriate for very young children. As much as I wanted to like the book, the illustrations often did not match with either the description of the creature in the Harry Potter book, or their film version. Too often, they looked as if they had been just slightly altered from the Muggle creatures they resemble. The book is worth purchasing for the writing, but the illustrations are lacking.

The dimensions of this illustrated book are NOT the same as the other illustrated Harry Potter books. This book is an inch bigger on both sides. It also does not have a dust jacket like the others. Why? Why would these not be consistent?! Very frustrating!

Well it was not what I expected I thought it was the movie in book form illustrated like the new Harry Potter books. It's not so I was a little disappointed. However, it is still really beautiful and very entertaining. I haven't really had a chance to look at it more closely yet but I can't wait to learn more about the Magical Creatures of the Magical world. Thank you

Absolutely beautiful book! I received it as a birthday gift and I cannot stop admiring it. If you get a chance, look on youtube for the video of how the prints for this book were made by hand on copper plating. It will make you appreciate it even more!

Great book - fantastic illustrations. I would say the illustrations aren't as good as those found in the other illustrated editions, and they're more experimental in nature. Absolutely a must-buy for any HP fan.

1. the store always ships books in boxes that are too big. My book arrived damaged with scratches, spots & food crumbs on the covers.
2. The size of the book is inconsistent with the other HP illustrated series, which is disappointing.
3. The book does not have a dust jacket which is inconsistent with all of my other HP books and disappointing.
4. The illustrations lack depth. The majority of the book is just rough sketches with color. I can easily imagine that myself. What I was anticipating was amazing detail and a beautiful book. What I received looks like a rough draft. Not woth the price I paid

One star, and that is too much. Ad showed an animal doing a characterization movement. Ad did not say I would not be able to view the animals on my older kindle hd. So I regret buying this book as it is not viewable on many devices. Shame on you for not disclosing this until after purchase. Very disappointed.

I bought the Kindle edition of the book and checked out the hardcover US version (with the Griffin):

The Catch with Kindle: You can only see the animations and ANY illustrations on a Kindle (they have a list above with the compatible versions) and on your Phone. However, the novelty is too much to pass up. It is important to note that not all of the illustrations move, but the ones that do move go on for a few seconds; most on a loop and the more involved animations need to be clicked again to replay. There is also a handy drop down menu so you can easily find the creature you want. If you are viewing this book on your phone, the larger animations (mostly the dragons) will be sliced up in sections (all animated). I have never owned an animated e-book, but it really adds to the atmosphere for illustrations other commenters mentioned were a bit flat (a bit more on that later).

There are four main versions of this book: The original 2009 textbook with Harry, Ron, and Hermione's comments scribbled in the margins, the 2017 Library version without the comments, but an additional 6 creatures (e.g. Horned Serpent) to the original 75, the Screenplay of the Movie, and the illustrated version.

The Art - Hardcover vs. Kindle: The art is varied in style. Some of the pictures are pencil sketches in black and white (e.g. the Diricawl or "dodo"), others are full on detailed watercolors (e.g. most of the dragons), some are very tiny like the Puffskein (little yellow fuzzball with a long tongue), and some need to be tiny (i.e. the acromantula which is a giant spider - it's in black and white and mostly scribbles in case you have a phobia - though it is the first creature).
This is where the animation really makes this book shine. A Horklump (the pink mushrooms with spikes...cool) may appear flat as an illustration, but they fidget, pulsate, and sway a bit in the animation. The tiny Puffskein's tongue shoots out and retracts. A Billywig (the buzzing blue beetle dragonfly with a stinger) flies on and off the page. Again, I'll make a note about the Acromantula because of phobias and because it comes first: yes it is animated, but the fangs and head just sway and gently move a bit on a loop - no leg movement and it really is a watercolor scribble.

Little Details: The hardcover does not have a slip cover so be careful that scuffing the book doesn't rip off the matte skin exposing the paper pulp beneath. It also has matte pages as opposed to the gloss lamination of most art books. The US version has a Griffin (as shown above) while the UK version has an Occamy (crane with a snake tail) and a more detailed background. Both versions really would make a great coffee table book as per your aesthetic. If you're keeping it on your bookshelf, it's a bit bigger than the regular Harry Potter books.

Overall Recommendation: I'm big on checking books out at the library first to see if you like them: I'm not a collector, I just buy the books I actually like because books cost money. For a really immersed fan, this book is most likely must. For a fan that read the original textbook or hesitated to read it because you heard that it was more of a list of creatures than a full on story (which it is, though some of the descriptions are amusing *insert Uric the Oddball*), this is a more fun version. The inconsistent art style might throw you off if you're looking for full detail, highly imaginative, spreads for every creature; definitely check it out at the library or even the images other users have put up. If you have little kids or are a kid at heart, the animation...it's just so fun! I am the type of person who watched the Life of Pi 3D and put my hands out to touch the stars so I might be a bit more "all in" than others, but if you don't mind viewing it on your phone or your kindle, my favorite is the animated illustration.

Happy Reading!
Never Bird

Reading works by J.K. Rowling is like being instructed on the art of hitting by Ted Williams. I have no criticism of the words, story or illustrations. Content is "top shelf." As a reader, who am I to critique a work of this magnitude. It was "big" enough to be printed as a book, made into a motion picture and appear as a Broadway Production. IT's good- very good. And it is worth becoming a part of your Rowling library. And it should be read and enjoyed. Every hit can't be a homerun, but a hit is a hit and that is how you win games. A delightful read in my opinion.

We own the other 3 Harry Potter illustrated editions (Stone, Chamber, and Azkaban), and I have to say that the illustrations in this book were a little disappointing. They were nowhere near the quality of the other 3 books. We also own the screenplay edition of Fantastic Beasts and I would say that the little doodles of beasts that show up throughout the screenplay edition were a lot more beautiful, creative and imaginative than the illustrations in this book. It's a shame, because this book above all others in the Potterverse could have been the most visually stunning. (I mean, "Fantastic Beasts", right?) That being said, my 9 year old son does enjoy reading it.

Not that the book deserves only three stars, but just for those that made the mistake I did.....this is NOT an illustrated edition of the movie. I feel stupid not fully reading the description, but it’ll go well with the rest of our illustrated collection of the HP series.

This is a perfect addition to any Harry Potter fan. The illustrated editions of the original books are great for encouraging young readers (ie, children of the original fans!) to explore the world we all love.

This one in particular has lots of colorful drawings of the various magical beasts and while there's no "story" it kept my 2-year old engaged as we learned about the creatures. LOVE IT!

It appears as though the pictures are taken directly from my imagination and are based on the books, not the movies, which to me is the way it should be. There are so many pictures I was speechless, yet the test was very readable. It just enhances the books I have of already and has even more information than the original 'Fantastic Beast' Book!

Book #101 Read in 2017
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them--Illustrated

Another beautifully illustrated book from the Harry Potter series, this book details the A-Z of the magical beasts that a Muggle would find in the world of Hogwarts. This was a cute, quick read. I borrowed this book from the public library.

This was a gift for the wife and she really loved it. The book itself is huge and heavy and you can tell why retrial price is around $30. It has a ton of stories and background information and well worth it as a present.

I was very disappointed in the illustrations. Newt's book was intended to educate the wizarding world about these creatures with the hope that after seeing their unique beauty and physical features, many would be encouraged to learn more about the preservation and care of these creatures. These magical creatures deserved and needed so much more clarity and detail than these grim drawings contained. These were nothing more than rough sketches with a little color wash to given them minimal depth and composition. They reminded me of poorly imitated Eric Carle illustrations. Perhaps a better name for this book would have been The Very Hungry Hippogriff.

Very low quality and amature sketches. I understand illustrations are representations of what Newt Scammander would have drawn, but he couldn't have been this untalented. A complete rip-off. I have very little artistic talent and no gormal training but can do just about as well as the illustrator here. K.K. Rowling's writing and imagination deserves much better. Her fans do too.

I LOVE having this edition. I can feel it is written from Newt's mind and I was reading complaints about the illustrations. I personally feel like the artwork is meant to be from Newt's hand and his sketches as he's watching the creatures and not meant to be professional. If you are a fan of Newt and his fantastic beasts, this is a must have!

I bought this book for my boyfriend's 10-year-old daughter who has recently become enchanted with the Harry Potter series. Although the book is a work of art in its own right, more like a coffee table book with water color illustrations, I don't think it's appropriate for my boyfriend's daughter or most children. The content and imagery are rather dark. For example, it includes the description of an Erkling, a creature that lures children and eats them! I think it's more suited to older Potter enthusiasts. That said, I bought this book for $15.99 with a value of $34.99, which is a fantastic bargain for the right reader!

I'm just going to stop buying Potter stuff. I am tired of buying it only to have a new version out in 6 months with new features. Shouldn't there be an upgrade offered at a discount to current owners????