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.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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
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.
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.
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