Product ReviewsHarry Potter Ser.: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (2008, Hardcover)

Tales that span centuries of enquiring young minds.

fabulous fairy tales, much like brothers Grimm but featuring the world of magic. more than just tales, it also has the astute analysis of what they portray in the life of the ordinary muggle and young wizard person alike by professor Albus Dumbledore himself and a few footnotes by a Ms J. K. Rowling to explain some of the more obscure language usage. perfect for every Harry Potter fan. and more economically priced than the novels. while we might not grasp the original runes, thanks to Hermione Granger this is an up to date translation into ordinary English.Read full review...

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Very good writter

Rowling is a very good writer. Have all of her books except the ones under her other name that she has published under. Haven't read it yet but it has to be very good. Sorry

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Beedle the Bard

It’s sad, but good fables are hard to come by anymore. George Orwell and James Thurber both managed a decent shot at the medium in recent times, but Aesop still holds the title. And J.K. Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard will never replace Aesop-- but it does give us a delicious little side-dish of Harry Potter memorabilia!
This diminutive offering is not another Harry Potter adventure--it’s a literary artifact found embedded within one work (HP & the Deathly Hallows) and yanked out for a life of its own. Hamlet has a similar, famous device: The Mousetrap --the ‘play-within-a-play’ intended to ”…catch the conscience of the king.” Rowling needed to introduce the titular ‘Deathly Hallows’ concept to her readers and created the Beedle tales as the messenger. Actually, only one of the Beedle tales has anything at all to do with advancing the plot, but a handful of other fable titles were tossed out to give the illusion of a larger body of work, and bingo! Beedle was born!
Let’s not be mulish—this skinny little book was never intended as a tome of didactic insight. It’s just fun! It was originally written as a gift for a few of Rowling’s friends, but the howling mob outside the castle learned about it and demanded the same! It’s Rowling’s first effort as a fabulist, and it’s rich in both language and humor. Sure, Aesop did well with The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Ant and the Grasshopper, but how can you beat Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump? Fans of Harry Potter will adore this tiny book as one more jewel in the treasure chest of wizarding wonder. For that matter, they would probably also swoon over Hermione Granger’s address book or Mrs. Weasley’s favorite chili recipes! Well, maybe that’s next year!Read full review...

The book provides some insight to the life and studies of the magical world

I didn't even know this book existed until I read about it in one of my e-mails. Since I own the entire Harry Potter series I wanted this to complete the set. I found the stories interesting, especially when I kept in mind that these were the stories referred to in the book series and used that as a reference for the way they were written. The author's addition of Dumbledore notes and comments added to the book considerably. They made the stories more believable even though I knew they were fantasy. This book is a very good addition to the Harry Potter series.Read full review...

Great addition to the HP series

This was an excellent addition to the Harry Potter series. It's always fun to read a book from within a book. The stories are consistent with the magical world JK Rowling has created and while fairy tale-like, very unique for us "Muggles". It was an extremely refreshing read - even beyond my love for the Harry Potter series, it really made me smile at being able to enjoy a 'brand new' fairy tale.

One thing I disliked about it was the commentaries seemed a lot longer than the stories themselves. The commentaries are excellent to help understand the fairy tales...but in my opinion, the stories themselves are so straight forward the commentaries seemed more like book club or even classroom discussions rather than clarifications for the fairy tales.Read full review...

A nice addition to a 1st edition Harry Potter Collection

This collector's edition is beautifully published and came to us in mint condition. It was encased in a cardboard sleeve in sealed plastic that completely obscured what was inside. The only problem real readers face is the choice between leaving it that way (which literally leaves the beholder to wonder what in the world it really looks like) or breaking in the wrapping to enjoy what it inside. I'm sure it devalued the overall price to open it, but it was hard to top as a gift for a true Potter fan. In hindsight I could have saved about $100 if I'd just purchased an opened set instead of the mint collection, given that my son opted to open it. He has no intention of selling it or keeping it intact just for the monetary value. Next time I might be wiser.Read full review...

The Tales of Beedle The Bard(2008)

Revelations of a facet following our beloved characters and friends from our favorite books, "Harry Potter". Sheer genious weaves characters and their childhood stories, making us even more in touch with a full life, and how time and society, change reality into a fantasy world, just as it changes in our real lives. Showing us how pressure from present day, makes truths from the past politically correct, thus changing the main theme to a truthful piece from the past into a bland and uninteresting piece of tripe. We feel comments from us pale in comparison to the writings of J.K.Rawlings, who we rank at the top with Charles Dickens and The Brothers Grimm. We are honored to have been asked to write on an author, that we hold with our highest esteem.Read full review...

Another Hit by J K Rowling in the world of Harry Potter

Once again J. K. Rowling proves her literary skill and creativity in "The Tales of Beetle the Bard". All who have read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be familiar with the last story of the book, "The Tale of the Three Brothers", and perhaps remember reading the titles of some of the other stories as mentioned by the character "Ron Weasley" while trying to overcome his shock at Harry and Hermione's lack of knowledge of these stories (it is compared to muggles never hearing of Snow White or Cinderella).

Now these stories are available for all of us "muggles" who were not so fortunate to grow up hearing them, or for magical folk who wish to hear the original version. Not only do we get the stories (as translated by Hermione Granger), but each story is followed by a detailed commentary by Albus Dumbledore - with a few footnotes from JKR to help those who may be less familiar with the wizarding world.

The stories are quite imaginative (though we would expect nothing less from the creator of Harry Potter!), but they also do a terrific job of warning us of the woes of greed, trickery, lack of love, lust for power, etc. As with the "muggle" stories we grew up hearing, these are morality tales meant for children (though, I would caution the "Harry Heart" story is a bit gruesome and should be read by a parent before reading it aloud to their child).

To be honest, I partly expected these stories to bit just altered versions of the old Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Aesops tales, but they aren't at all! My 10 year old daughter loved the stories as much as I did (while I also enjoyed Dumbledore's commentaries, they were a bit too dull for her - not having read the original 7 HP books yet herself).
I would like to add a note of personal preference with regard to these stories: of them all, my favority has to be "Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump" (I hope I spelled that correctly). It is not only instructive but quite humorous as well!

The only complaint I would have about this book is that it is rather short with only a handful of stories (and I really shouldn't complain seeing as how it is described as being short in the Deathly Hallows book).

I should also mention this book (along with some of her previous books associated with the HP series like "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages") where written and published in support of a specific charity. So, not only do you get a fantastic addition to your HP library by purchasing this book, you get to help children in the process!

Personally, I would gladly buy another of Ms. Rowling's books along the HP line as I have loved (and purchased!) every one of them thus far. The original 7 books were incrediable (the 7th being so good I flipped back to page one when I finished reading it the first time and read the whole thing again!). Yet, these others books manage to give more fullness to the lives of the characters in Harry's world outside of the many pages of the main books. They are a great way to enhance your understanding of Harry's magical world which so many of us yearn to live in!Read full review...

one of the most recommended books ever

sorry for my bad english

We have had to wait for such a long boring time, but now, yeah, I am so glad that I could get it that early (thanx Lou for your support) I'd immediately reading the book while it was smelling freshly printed.
Let me give my conclusion in advance: It is a wonderful book for those who like to read nice stories anyway, but even for all Harry Potter fans it is a MUST!

I guess that there are not too many people not having read the Potter books, for those, it could be different to understand backgrounds in some cases, however, this is completely compensated by Rowling's wonderful stories itselves as well as the perfect execution. It is of Joanne K. Rowling's best side. I mean, I can feel that this book is not just a book but more a work of love, and the reason why Rowling had written this book is permanently present in each word. (I know, it sounds a bit theatric, but I love this book - sorry)

Considering, that all the money from the sale will flow into charity fond for children, and that the book is really wonderful, I predict that the book will become one of the best sold ones ever

Have fun, regards from German

SKAIRead full review...

Wonderful addition to any Harry Potter fan's collection.

Have no fear fellow Potter fans, this book does indeed live up to your expectations. This book lives up to the standards of the Harry Potter books in both its writing standard and its plot content.

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Fun read with references to original story

My 10 year old is a big Harry Potter fan and this book did not disappoint. She read it in under an hour.

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