One of the most anticipated books of 2008 was J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizard fairy tales referenced in the final book of the Harry Potter series. Prefaced by an introduction by Rowling, the slender volume contains the stories “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”, “The Fountain of Fair Fortune”, “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart”, “Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump”, and “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. The latter tale appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where it aided Harry, Ron, and Hermione in their quest to unearth the Deathly Hallows and thereby defeat Lord Voldemort, but the other four stories are completely new works. Scholarly notes attributed to Professor Albus Dumbledore, which “appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters’ Archive”, with occasional footnotes by J.K. Rowling, add an air of verisimilitude to the book, as does the title page that quite fittingly credits Hermione Granger for translating the book from the original runes. Rowling’s charming illustrations, black-and-white line drawings perfectly suited to Beedle‘s Brothers Grimm-style storytelling, reveal another facet of the author’s creative talent, making it even more interesting to guess at what she’ll produce next, post-Harry Potter.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard was released in both a Standard Edition and a Collector’s Edition, the second offered exclusively by Amazon.com. The Standard Edition contains the five fairy tales, a new introduction by J.K. Rowling, illustrations reproduced from the original handcrafted book, and commentary on each of the tales from Professor Albus Dumbledore. The Collector’s Edition features all five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard; an outer case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library; 10 ready-for-framing prints of J.K. Rowling’s illustrations; an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling’s handwritten introduction; 10 new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the Standard Edition or the original handcrafted edition; a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature; metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones, and an emerald ribbon. Available only in limited quantities, Amazon.com recently posted a sold-out notice for the Collector’s Edition:
Thanks to the incredible enthusiasm of Harry Potter fans, we have sold out of all copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector’s Edition available in the United States. To ensure that we have enough replacement copies (for example, for books damaged during shipping), we will be holding a limited number of copies in reserve. If you missed out on ordering your copy of the Collector’s Edition, it is possible that a small number of copies will become available in the weeks following its release on December 4, 2008.
J.K. Rowling has waived her royalties for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and net proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Children’s High Level Group, a children’s rights charity co-founded by Rowling to benefit children who have been relegated to residential institutions. A press release from the Children’s High Level Group — J.K. Rowling Delighted as Beedle Sales Raise More Than £4M for CHLG in First Week — thanks Muggle fans for their support of this very important cause.
Check out the full range of Harry Potter titles, aside from The Tales of Beedle the Bard published specially by the Children’s High Level Group, at Raincoast Books. In addition to the original books, Raincoast Books offers adult, large print, “magic”, deluxe gift, foreign-language (Latin, Welsh, Ancient Greek, Irish), and box set editions, as well as the textbooks that Rowling wrote for Comic Relief, Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.
Order now at Amazon.com:
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector’s Edition (Offered Exclusively by Amazon)
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Or order directly through the Bloomsbury Publishing website.
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard is distributed by Children’s High Level Group, in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic and Amazon.com. The Harry Potter series is distributed by Bloomsbury Publishing (International), Raincoast Books (Canada), and Scholastic (US). For more information on the books and their author, visit the J.K. Rowling Official Site.