The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Hogwarts Library)

by J.K. Rowling

J K Rowling (Illustrator)

'You've never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?' said Ron incredulously. 'You're kidding, right?' (From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) Published by the charity Lumos in association with Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the first new book from J. K. Rowling since the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Tales of Beedle the Bard played a crucial role in assisting Harry, with his friends Ron and Hermione, to finally defeat Lord Voldemort. Fans will be thrilled to have this opportunity to read the tales in full. An exciting addition to the canon of Harry Potter, the tales reveal the wonderful versatility of the author, as she tackles with relish the structure and varying tones of a classic fairy tale. There are five tales: 'The Tale of the Three Brothers', recounted in Deathly Hallows, plus 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', and 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump'. Each has its own magical character and will bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril.
Translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, the tales are introduced and illustrated by J. K. Rowling. Also included are notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by kind permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters' Archive. Lumos is a charity founded by J. K. Rowling which aims to make life better for disadvantaged children. Registered Charity Number: 1112575.

• ISBN10: 0747599874
• ISBN13: 9780747599876
• Publish Date: 2 August 2008
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Like muggle fairy tales, these stories teach lessons and I found them delightful and whimsical. Dumbledore bequeathed a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the last Potter book and we were treated to The Tale of The Three Brothers.

Listening to the book in its entirety was wonderful. Not only did it evoke memories of the series for me, it also allowed me to once again slip into this world.

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot -read by Warwick Davis, who played Professor Flitwick ­in the Harry Potter films.
The Fountain of Fair Fortune – read by Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films.
The Warlock’s Hairy Heart– read by Jason Isaacs known as Lucius Malfoy in the films.
Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump – read by Bonnie Wright. She played Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films.
The Tale of the Three Brothers – read by Noma Dumezweni. Noma played Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, London’s West End and New York’s Broadway productions.

Sally Mortemore read the introductory note from the author. She played the librarian Madam Pince from the Harry Potter films.

Jude Law who played Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films continues his role as Albus Dumbledore. At the end of each story he reads notes from Dumbledore. These were some of my favorite moments in the audiobook.

As you can see the cast of narrators is brilliant and each brought the stories to life and recreated the world for me.

This is a short listen, but each story was magical. The Fountain of Fair Fortune and The Tale of Three Brothers were my favorites of the collection.

This title will be available for free to Audible members through January 7, 2021, at 11:59 PM PT This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[kiracanread]

A fun selection of additional stories in the Harry Potter universe. A quick, enjoyable read, reminiscent of how fun the Harry Potter universe is.

[Pigpen.Reads]

I regret not picking this up sooner!

[Steph L]

A fun read for Harry Potter fans of all ages. It's like the Grimms Fairytales, but for magic folk and muggles alike.

[Jyc]

★★★★ // mystical.

[sstaley]

Worth a one time read, but I won't be buying this. I did like the notes from Albus Dumbledore at the end of each story.

[angelarenea9]

I was so excited that J.K. Rowling wrote this book, it's like she opens the door just a little bit and lets us jump into the Harry Potter world! I was however disappointed that the only stories that were included were the ones mentioned in the Deathly Hallows. I was kinda hoping for more! But it defiantly was amazing!

[wyvernfriend]

Cleverly written with commentaries about the stories and how they relate to reality and what lessons are to be learned from the story.

This is an interesting set of stories, written as if they were fairy tales for wizardling children, along with some quite humourous interpretations and discussions of the bowderdisations that occured, quite as if they had been written in the real world and the changes that would have happened to a story over time.

The stories vary in quality. The Wizard and the Hopping Pot is probably my least favourite a story about sharing with others. The Fountain of Fair Fortune is all about learning to deal with life and that nothing is easy - one of my favourites. The Warlock's Hairy Heart is a bit gruesome, but would probably appeal to those who like their tales to end in nastyness.
Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump is a clever tale of persecution and how a Witch evaded capture and changed some minds.
The Tale of the Three Brothers is a wizardly warped story about the proverbial three brothers and tricking death.

Overall not a bad set of stories. A nice look into the world of Harry Potter.

A delightful bunch of sometimes gruesome but enchanting wizard fairy tales of a moral point. I love fairytales and this was perfection.

[inlibrisveritas]

Another companion book to the Harry Potter series that has so much wonder of it's own. It's nice to have a book like this,it's helps imagine what it would be like to have your mom or dad telling them to you as a little kid. They are lovely little stories that would seem like real stories that have been around for a long time.