Full of fantastic illustrations by famed illustrator, Alan Lee (Lord of the Rings, Faeries, The Mabinogion, Castles). This is an early book of his, but his style is still very strong in it and the large amount of watercolours he produced for it make it a must for serious fans of his work. ( )

If you place a live toad in your armpit, you will be rendered invisible. Other little-known tidbits from the text include: how to become a werewolf (hint: involves babies and nudity!), what dwells at the bottom of a certain Scottish lake, how to record a plant's aura, how to perform divination with a crystal skull, and how to unlock a door with a severed criminal's hand. Unusually, this helpful text can now primarily be found on banned book lists in public school libraries.

With beautiful watercolor illustrations by Alan Lee, who apparently went on to bigger and better things later in his career. ( )