The Tales of Beedle The Bard (2008, Hardcover)

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!

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!

I was thrilled to read J.K. Rowling's wizarding fairy tales. She once again proves she is a talented writer of fantasy for all ages. I am a woman over 55, and a big fan of the Harry Potter series. I was very curious to read The Tales of Beedle The Bard after hearing so much about it in Deathly Hallows.
If there truely were witches and wizards on this earth, this book of Fairy Tales would have been the perfect childhood bedtime stories, teaching the same morals and consequences as some of our Muggle fairy tales.
I loved the way the washer woman fooled the imposter and the King in the Crackling Stump. Dumbledore's comments were a nice surprise addition. If you are a fan of Harry Potter, and it saddens you there won't ever be a 8th Harry Potter book, this is a must read. It lessens the disappointment a bit.

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.

If you love Harry Potter, this is a necessary read. It's a fun and interesting insight into wizarding culture. It can also be looked at as a fun and interesting insight into our own history. JK Rowling has used her expertise in English Literature and has structured these tales to our own fairy tales. And I am refering to the real fairy tales, not the politically correct ones that are read more frequently now. Stories like The Warlock's Hairy Heart, are great lessons, a little dark, and entertaining all at the same time. I love htese stories, as I know, will any Harry Potter fan. I'll probably end up using them as bedtime stories to my children right along with our actual fairy tales.