For me the ORIGINAL illustrations by Doris Lee are essential to the book. They're the ones chosen by Thurber himself. For many fond readers of the original, the most recent version (with the illustrations by Steven Kellogg) will be a sad disappointment. In a book like this where the illustrations are as important as the words, the wonderfulness of both in the original publication was particularly magical. Perhaps if one came upon the Kellogg version without being aware of the original one wouldn't know what was being missed, but for me it's like reading Laura Ingalls Wilder or E.B. White's 'children's' books without the Garth Williams drawings. It isn't clear to me why a publisher would do this. So at least be aware there are two versions and make sure you're getting the one you're expecting. Absolutely no offense meant to Mr. Kellogg (I certainly wouldn't want to be the 2nd illustrator of Stuart Little or Charlotte's Web or Little House in The Big Woods) but from my point of view I very much agree with James, an earlier reviewer who made the same point. The Doris Lee illustrations are magical and sweet in the best minimalist senses of the words. From the original reader point of view the new illustrations might even be said to miss the point of the words, or refute them, and are really rather frightening in comparison, in a way they shouldn't be. Very distressing to Quillowites.