Book #16
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard by J.K. Rowling
'You've never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?' said Ron incredulously. 'You're kidding, right?' The Tales of Beedle the Bard played a crucial role in assisting Harry, with his friends Ron and Hermione, to finally defeat Lord Voldemort. 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. 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.
I loved this! It's a cute wee book of wizarding fairy tales, and I can see myself reading it again loads of times because of the warm and fuzzy feeling it can give you as a reader.
I particularly love the thought that these particular tales will have had a lot to do with the upbringing of the Harry Potter characters we know and love - particularly the Weasleys who, no doubt, heard these stories a million times over throughout their childhoods.
Each of the stories had morals attached to them, which were then analysed and relayed to us by Dumbledore in some footnotes he had left behind in his will.
Dumbledore's footnotes were filled with humour and his little quirks. They gave us more insight into the history and cultures of the wizarding world, which was lovely. I particularly enjoyed his mini-rant about censorship within the Hogwarts library in relation to the Malfoys.
I'd recommend this to anyone, particularly hardcore Harry Potter fans. It's definitely not as deep or epic as the novels in the Potter saga, but it's sweet and believable, and it works wonderfully as a companion to our previous knowledge of the wizarding world.