Finished Reading: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
18 Jan
Miraculously, I woke up an hour before anyone else in the house today, and the winter wind blowing outside convinced me to curl up in the living room chair and read. I picked up the latest book from the world of Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
It was a fun little read – it contained five “classic” fairy tales from the wizarding world, translated from the ancient Runic by our own Hermione Granger, with notes left by the late Albus Dumbledore. (Oops. Did I give anything away? There can’t possibly be anyone who is interested in the world of Potter who doesn’t know that, though. Right?)
I enjoyed the classical fairy tale style of the stories, and imagine that JediBoy would love hearing them just as much as the fairy tales we’re used to. The end notes after each tale were a fun analysis and a little wizardry name-dropping, relating the stories to the characters from the novels. I don’t think JediBoy would be interested in those sections, though, and so if we read this one together we’ll probably only read the tales themselves.
But, for the record, this was my book (PisecoDad gave it to me at Christmas), and I read it alone, purely for my own enjoyment. It was way better than doing laundry.
(And, it’s important to note, Scholastic’s net proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to Rowling’s charity, Children’s High Level Group. So if you’re going to read this book – buy your own copy!)
OMG!! What do you mean LEFT BY DUMBLEDORE? You mean…..Dumbledore DIES???!!!????!!
Sorry, couldn’t resist. I enjoyed this book in my own incredibly geeky way.
P.S. Some seriously prolific blogging today. Way to go!
I have been interested in reading this book but was a bit unsure. After reading your review, I now am sure that I want to read this book.
Thanks.
LOVE:
1. Waking up before anyone else and doing something for my personal pleasure (like reading or blog stalking); and
2. When publishers donate profits for causes. It’s a good idea when it works out to do that.
Enjoyed your review!
So glad I bought this book even though I haven’t found time to read it yet. Someday!