Hmmm well, I think the books are fine without them... but I really do like the illustrations at the beggining of each chapter in the America edition. They really get your mind clicking, and at the end of the chapter, if you look back at the picture, it makes so much more sense and it's just really nice to see another interpretation of it.

It's not a massive illustration, but that small little picture is really nice in my opinion, without over doing it.