Customer Reviews

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I knew it wouldn't take long for J.K. Rowling to produce some other book related to her bestselling "Harry Potter" series.

Admittedly the main link is that the "The Tales of Beedle The Bard" are all given a hefty postscript by the late Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Rowling's fictional magic academy. It's a very quick children's book with some old-fashioned fairy tales in the Brothers Grimm mold, and a slightly tongue-in-cheek (but overly long) examinations afterward.

First there's the tale of an extraordinarily selfish young wizard, whose father bequeaths him a cauldron and a slipper. When the wizard refuses to help the local Muggles, the cauldron suddenly sprouts a brass foot and starts pursuing him, making his life a living hell until he starts helping people other than himself.

Then three young witches are attempting to get to the Fountain of Fair Fortune -- one is seriously ill, one is poor, and one got dumped. They end up accompanied by an extremely unlucky knight, and they are forced to handle three obstacles before they can get to the fountain.

Then it's a somewhat darker tale about a warlock who lives alone because he cares nothing for anyone, until a visitor bruises his ego by suggesting that he can't get a wife -- leading him to pursue a sweet, wealthy and gorgeous young woman. But she is frightened by the warlock's heartless nature -- and when he reveals his "treasure" to her, tragic consequences ensue.

There's a tale about a king who tries to gain control of all his kingdom's magic, capturing all the witches and trying to learn magic himself. His instructor is nothing but a greedy faker, who quickly enters into a minor war with the king's washerwoman Babbitty -- who may be an actual witch. Finally, the story of three brothers offered three gifts by Death -- who, of course, has an ulterior motive. Don't they always?

For the record, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is a very short book -- only about a hundred shortish pages long. Unlike the bestselling "Harry Potter" series (where "Tales of Beedle the Bard" apparently took on a pivotal role) this book is clearly for children -- especially since each one is a clear moral message.

And at least half of that is made up of the preface (explaining the fictional history of the stories -- including that this is a new translation by Hermione Granger) and the quirky analyses (apparently by Albus Dumbledore). In fact, too much space is taken up by the analyses, although they are cleverly written and have a touch of satire (such as the account of someone trying to "clean up" the tales, with nauseating results).

And J.K. Rowling's slightly tongue-in-cheek prose and sprightly imagination work well with the fairy tale format. She gives the stories some nicely gruesome imagery (the twisted, hair-covered heart) and a medieval flavour with tiny rural villages, magical quests, kings, knights, a deathly psychopomp and a sprightly witchy washerwoman who's far cleverer than anyone expects. And though witches and wizards come into play during the stories, the focus is on their personalities and trials rather than their magic.

J.K. Rowling's "Tales of Beedle the Bard" is way too short, but her fairy tales are clever and well-written, and the afterwords are even cleverer.

Replying to several calls from fans asking to have copies of this book that she wrote and gave to seven people involved in the publication of Harry Potter, J K Rowling finally published in 2008 a first edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, whose sales would go to the author's foundation, Children's High Level Group.

Illustrated by Rowling herself, this book also offers snippets and interpretations from Dumbledore's letters as he originally gave the book to Hermione at the start of the seventh book. Speking of those notes, it is interesting to read them as we learn that those Beedle stories had an impact on Harry Potter's story itself, especially one who led to the debacle between Lucius Malfoy and Dumbledore during the Chamber of Secrets plot. Though there were times I wished it had one or two more stories so that we could get more meat on this wonderful wizard world Rowling has revealed to us, I am glad to have in my library a copy of Beedle's fairy tales, which cover different genres, going from comedy to pure horror (such as for the tale with the hairy heart).

You should know going in that this is a book of children's fairytales. We learned that much while reading the Harry Potter series. I think J.K did a good jobw with these stories and I appreciate being able to learn about or read what the character's claimed to have read. If you expect to buy this book and find gripping tales for adults in it then you're an idiot. It's supposed to be a kid's book -- and it is.

I'll keep this quick: this is a must-buy for any lovers of fable-style short stories, parents, or just Harry Potter fans. The book is gorgeous, the hand-drawings are simple-but-effective, and the tales themselves are magical. The included comments by Albus Dumbledore are just icing on the cake!

I preordered this collector's edition right after hearing the July 31st announcement, and got it in the mail today. The cover has the feel of an ancient Hogwarts textbook, and inside you get the drawings, with the actual book of tales in a pouch. The stories are simple but contain the magic Harry Potter touch. While fans may argue about the book's length, Dumbledore's commentary is worth your while, and the tales contain life lessons. This will be on my bookshelf for years to come.:)

When I read the Deathly Hallows last year, I was charged with conflicting emotions. Of course, it was delightful to be in the middle of another Potter story at long last, and reading a Potter story for the first time is the most highly prized experience of them all. But I was so sad that the delicious speculations the first books allowed for would be terminated after the mysteries were all revealed in the final installment. Not knowing the end of the story engaged our imaginations in the narrative so much more than reading a book that reveals all its secrets early on, and our imaginations were engaged for YEARS.

Now, that saga is over. But with the Tales of Beedle the Bard, Rowling gives back some of what we lost. The Wizarding world is much expanded by our new consciousness of the history of Harry's experiences. I enjoyed Dumbledore's funny commentary: it suggested Hogwarts stories that we don't know yet, intriguing characters that we aren't familiar with, and questions without answers.

Holding this collectors editions in your hands enhances that feeling: that there are more Potter mysteries out that, that the story is never over, and that the complexity of the wizard world is far from resolved. History proves that Muggle-hating is a disease that persists throughout the generations, and I don't think that Harry has fought the final battle, yet. The long history of the Magic/Muggle dilemma that the Tales of Beedle the Bard instilled in my mind has convinced me of that.

The fables are very well written (Of Course it is, J.K Rowling is the writer!) I love in the introduction how she explains the difference between Muggle and Non-Muggle fairy tales. In Muggle fairy tales, magic tends to lie at the root of the hero or heroine's troubles- the wicked witch has poisoned the apple, or put the princess into a hundred years' sleep, or turned the prince into a hideous beast. In the Tales of Beedle the Bard, on the other hand, we meet heros and heroines who can perform magic themselves, and yet find it as hard to solve their problems as we do." p. XII

The illustrations are also great. I was surprised to read J.K Rowling did the illustrations.

I'm a little embarrassed to only be reading this book now... I don't know why I waited so long...

Any Harry Potter fan knows the stories contained in this wonderful little book. The stories are pure J.K. Rowling, and I love them all. What surprised me most pleasantly, however, was the beautiful hard cover and quality of this inexpensive little book. Given that Amazon was putting out a very expensive edition, I didn't expect much from the 'basic' edition. I fell in love when I first touched the book and it hasn't stopped yet! Also, I received notice that Amazon had shipped the book, and it didn't arrive (Christmas gremlins, no doubt, it never did appear). When I contacted Amazon they immediately sent another, it arrived just in time for Christmas, and really I felt bowled over by the service. Will definitely continue buying from Amazon.ca.

My daughter was thrilled with this limited edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was carefully packed and was everything she had hoped it to be. At the time of placing the order, it had sold out in Britain so I had to buy it from the Canadian Amazon. What a service! It arrived BEFORE Christmas which I didn't expect...my daughter's best Christmas present. THANK YOU!!

I bought three of these books for Christmas gifts. The price was reasonable, they arrived in excellent condition, and were shipped in a short period of time.