The Tales of Beedle The Bard by J. K. Rowling (2008, Hardcover)

sorry for my bad english

We have had to wait for such a long boring time, but now, yeah, I am so glad that I could get it that early (thanx Lou for your support) I'd immediately reading the book while it was smelling freshly printed.
Let me give my conclusion in advance: It is a wonderful book for those who like to read nice stories anyway, but even for all Harry Potter fans it is a MUST!

I guess that there are not too many people not having read the Potter books, for those, it could be different to understand backgrounds in some cases, however, this is completely compensated by Rowling's wonderful stories itselves as well as the perfect execution. It is of Joanne K. Rowling's best side. I mean, I can feel that this book is not just a book but more a work of love, and the reason why Rowling had written this book is permanently present in each word. (I know, it sounds a bit theatric, but I love this book - sorry)

Considering, that all the money from the sale will flow into charity fond for children, and that the book is really wonderful, I predict that the book will become one of the best sold ones ever

Have fun, regards from German

SKAI

This book is fun for people who were looking for more of Harry Potter.
I would recommend this book for anyone who loves Harry Potter and was interested in reading more about the magical world.

Being a fan of J. K. Rowling I thought this book would be a nice addition to the whole collection of her Harry Potter series. I'm glad I purchased it for that reason, but the actual writing and concept of the book isn't as enjoyable as I hoped. It falls short of its concept, or perhaps it is that the rest of the Potter series is so glorious it's hard to hit the mark with this direction.

I decided to buy this book because of my love for the entire Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. This book proves to be a helpful companion read for the seventh novel in the Harry Potter series.
This book is a super-quick read, probably intended for children, but with just enough wit and humor to appeal to older readers. Nicely written, a nice edition to any Harry Potter collection.

The stories are very good,but the commentaries by Albus Dumbledore are a great insite into the last Harry Potter Book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
This book is a must for those of us who have grown to love the characters of this series.

I purchased the book to complete the Harry Potter series because the stories were mentioned in the seventh book. The style of the stories reminded me of the Brothers Grimes Tales. The Hopping Pot and the Warlock's Hairy Heart were the best.

I don't know if this review will do anyone any good because in my eyes J.K. can do no wrong. I Love the books. Have read them many times. Tales of Beedle the Bard helps of have even more understanding of the world J.K. created. Loved it.

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!

An excellent addition to the Harry Potter collection. It compliments and completes the "Deathly Hallows"

I'm a pretty die-hard Harry Potter fan.
On the day of this books release I was at Borders to purchase this book.
I spent 13 dollars on a book no more than 1/2 inch thick.
Dumbledores commentary on each story was longer than the story and was boring.
At the end of each short tale theres a "lesson" where it is written like a child's textbook.
I was very dissapointed to say the least.
The author obviously didn't give to squirts as she's already rolling in the dough. Definitly a half-a55ed installment.

The book is well written and adds to the experience of the Harry Potter books. The book is a must have for all Harry Potter fans.

I received the book in a timely fashion. Payment was appropriate. Great seller. I would buy from again.

This was interesting to read after finishing the Harry Potter series. It gives an insight into some of the information that is given in the series. You see why Hermione, Ron and Harry respond to things the way that they do.

The Tales of Beedle The Bard is a captivating series of tales.it is a fun read
and nice way to spend some time.

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!

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.

I love the writers ability to incorporate the every day fairy tales that we are used to into the magical realm of Harry Potter. After reading about the Tales of Beedle the Bard in the previous Harry Potter books, it became evident that the writer had intentions of producing this book. It was mostly curiosity that encouraged me to purchase this book. I was definetely not disappointed with the results. Good job Rowling. Wish there was more to come. This book is a definite must have for any Harry Potter fan or collector.

Revelations of a facet following our beloved characters and friends from our favorite books, "Harry Potter". Sheer genious weaves characters and their childhood stories, making us even more in touch with a full life, and how time and society, change reality into a fantasy world, just as it changes in our real lives. Showing us how pressure from present day, makes truths from the past politically correct, thus changing the main theme to a truthful piece from the past into a bland and uninteresting piece of tripe. We feel comments from us pale in comparison to the writings of J.K.Rawlings, who we rank at the top with Charles Dickens and The Brothers Grimm. We are honored to have been asked to write on an author, that we hold with our highest esteem.

The short stories in this book were cute and funny fairytales for Wizards/Witches. After each story is a written commentary of Dumbledore's thoughts and additional information of the meaning of the fairytales, which were longer than the stories themselves. I enjoyed reading this book, but hoped it would have not been written quite so simplisticly. Many of our Muggle fairytales involve more detail (ex. Cinderella). The book is not worth $12.99, as far as reading material goes. I believe that $8 would be fair for this item. The cover design is nice and the pages are sturdy. Overall, I enjoyed looking at and reading this item.

No where near the quality that I expected. I highly respect JKR for writing a book to help underpriviledged children, but she also shorted us on quality. There wasn't much to the stories and hardly any true insight from Dumbledore. I was very disappointed with my half hours worth of reading.

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I purchased two copies of The Tales of Beedle The Bard. They arrived very quickly and in new condition. I was very pleased. I really appreciated the free shipping.

My daughter loves to read J. K. Rowling books. I am glad she understands how the young minds need a little jolt now and then.