The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins
Art & Illustration Picture Book Fantasy Fairy Tale Movie Tie-In Children's Fiction Humor
The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins is the long-out-of-print 1996 hardcover treasure that pairs Monty Python’s Terry Jones with legendary fairy-tale artist Brian Froud. Written as a tongue-in-cheek naturalist’s handbook, the book “documents” more than fifty species of goblins—complete with Latin names, habitat notes, and hilarious behavioral sketches—while Froud’s lavish full-page paintings and marginalia give each creature a life of its own. The result is a picture book that works equally well as a lap-time read-aloud for ages 4-8, a middle-grade field-guide fantasy, or a coffee-table art piece for adult fans of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. Every spread invites readers to linger over details like the “Snotgobbler’s” migratory routes or the “Knobbly-Nosed Grunter’s” mating dance, making it an immersive, multi-age portal into goblin lore.
What makes this copy special is its clean, unmarked interior—no inscriptions, ex-libris stamps, or dog-eared pages—preserving both the vivid color plates and the subtle watercolor washes that are often dulled in circulated copies. The durable 128-page hardcover binding still stands up to repeated bedtime readings, while the 1990s first-edition status guarantees the original trim size and paper quality that later reprints lost. Minor corner rubs are noted, but the boards remain tight and the jacket colors bright, offering collectors and gift-givers an affordable, display-worthy copy of a book that rarely surfaces in any condition.
Parents searching for a fantasy bedtime story, Labyrinth devotees hunting for Brian Froud artwork, and collectors of ’90s cult movie tie-ins all converge on this title. Keywords like “David Bowie movie companion,” “Froud fairy art,” and “Terry Jones children’s fantasy” consistently drive demand, yet online listings are scarce and prices climb quickly when the guide appears. Owning a well-kept copy now means securing a piece of puppet-film history before the rumored reissue changes the market.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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