Journal Entry 1 by Colombina from Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Five fairy tales from the wizarding world, written in a completely different style than that of the Harry Potter books: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabitty and her Cackling Stump and The Tale of the Three Brothers that plays a major role in the Harry Potter story.
It is a beautiful little blue book and I thoroughly enjoyed the fairy tales, though being a grown-up :-) - however, I found the additional notes by Professor Dumbledore superfluous (they may, however, be precious for other Harry Potter fans). 

Journal Entry 2 by Colombina at a fellow bookcrosser, by mail -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, March 18, 2010

Released 3 yrs ago (3/18/2010 UTC) at a fellow bookcrosser, by mail -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This little book is now travelling to a fellow bookcrosser in Canada as a RABCK in the framework of the international Easter Exchange.
....
Dear lauraloo29, I hope the book will arrive on time and that you will enjoy it - happy reading and a blessed and joyful Easter to you and your family! 

Journal Entry 3 by lauraloo29 from Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, March 31, 2010

What a wonderful box of surprises today! 2 wishlist bookss, a little notebook, a book cover and egg cozies. All beautifully wrapped and hiding in green Easter grass. It was lovely! Thank you! 

Journal Entry 4 by lauraloo29 from Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Tuesday, April 20, 2010

This was a cute book. I could have done without Professor Dumbledore's "notes". 

Journal Entry 5 by lauraloo29 from Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Saturday, April 24, 2010

I'm sending this out as a bookray.

Rules: Not many. Please journal the book's arrival and departure. And please keep it moving by keeping it no longer than 4 weeks. The last person is free to release the book as they wish.


1. fairy-whispers - Australia (Intl)
2. nannupbookbug - Australia (Intl) - no response
3. skoobyz - US - (Intl)
4. sherrisue76 - US (US)
5. GoryDetails - US (Intl)
6. Jujuks - Portugal (Europe)
7.

Starting this journey on Apr 28. Happy travels! 

Journal Entry 6 by seldombites from Cambridge Park, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, May 12, 2010

G'day,

Just checking in to let you know I am safe and sound. I am having a nice visit with fairy-whispers before continuing on my travels. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am!

With Great Affection,

Your Book :-)
 

Journal Entry 7 by seldombites at Rockhampton, Queensland Australia on Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I just realised I haven't posted my review for this yet. Here you go:

This a charming little book that will be loved by child and adult alike. Like all fairy-tales, these stories all have a moral to the story but the morals are aimed at the unique challenges faced by wizards as opposed to us Muggles. I especially like Dumbledore's notes on each tale where we learn the history and other interesting titbits about the story or its author. My favourite story in this volume is The Wizard and the Hopping Pot. This tale about helping people and not being selfish will have your kids in fits of laughter. The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a definite must-read, even if you aren't a Potter fan.

I apologise for keeping this book for so long. Unfortunately nannupbookbug has asked to be skipped and skoobyz hasn't responded to my PMs, so I am currently awaiting a reply from sherrisue76. Hopefully, I will be able to get this book underway soon. 

Journal Entry 8 by seldombites at Rockhampton, Queensland Australia on Saturday, October 02, 2010

Again no response, so I am PMing GoryDetails. 

Journal Entry 9 by seldombites at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, October 04, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (10/4/2010 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Apologies for taking so long. I am on my way now. 

Journal Entry 10 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, October 16, 2010

The book arrived safely in today's mail; many thanks! I like the cover of this edition better than the US one, too - it looks very much like a somewhat-battered, old-fashioned fairy-tale cover, with some nicely creepy elements... Should be a quick read, and I hope to be able to get it moving again soon.  

Journal Entry 11 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Given that I'd been disappointed by the last three Harry Potter books (I adored the first three and was OK with number four), I was delighted to find that this little collection of in-universe fables was really charming! It reminded me of the whimsy-with-touches-of-darkness from the first books, and it also worked well as a collection of fables in its own right.

I enjoyed Dumbledore's comments on each fable, too, such as "A simple and heart-warming fable, one might think - in which case, one would reveal oneself to be an innocent nincompoop." His comparisons of events in the fables to real-world (er, real-HP-world) events were interesting, and I loved it when he would get snarky about Beatrix Bloxam the bowdlerizer. As he notes after quoting her way-too-twee version of "Hopping Pot", "Mrs. Bloxam's tale has met the same response from generations of wizarding children: uncontrollable retching, followed by an immediate demand to have the book taken from them and mashed into pulp." Hee!

I think "Fountain of Fair Fortune" was my favorite of the fables in its own right, but I loved Dumbledore's notes on that one too, especially the bits about the fable being contested by wizards who objected to any hint of wizard-Muggle marriage; a good example of book-banning issues there.

"The Warlock's Hairy Heart" is certainly the darkest of the tales, though some of Grimm's are - well, grimmer (though not by much). While Dumbledore treats this somewhat flippantly in his notes, I wonder whether this one might have more personal meaning for him, given his troubled relationship with Grindelwald...

That's speculation, though. In the book itself, Dumbledore says that "The Tale of the Three Brothers" is the one that had the most impact on him, given its focus on the foolishness of attempting to evade death. Some poignancy there - not to mention the tantalizing hint about a certain invisibility cloak.

Thanks for sharing this - I really enjoyed it! 

Journal Entry 12 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (10/19/2010 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book's on its way to BCer Jujuks in Portugal, to continue the ray. Hope you enjoy it! 

Journal Entry 13 by Jujuks at Lisboa - City, Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Monday, November 08, 2010

Thank you for sending the book GoryDetails. I've got two other books to read before this one but I promise not to take long. 

Journal Entry 14 by Jujuks at Lisboa - City, Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I did love reading this book especially as it made me remember of how much I liked Harry Potter's book. The tale of The Warlock's Hairy Heart seems a bit dark for a fairytale for children though, maybe it's just me but it certainly made me cringe a bit while reading it. The Tale of the Three Brothers was certainly my favorite story and I particularly like Dumbledore's notes on this one.  

Journal Entry 15 by Jujuks at RABCK, -- Por correio / mão própria -- Portugal on Monday, December 13, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (12/13/2010 UTC) at RABCK, -- Por correio / mão própria -- Portugal

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent as a RABCK to escalla 

Journal Entry 16 by Escalla at Lisboa - City, Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Thursday, December 16, 2010

A surprise rabck, thanks Jujuks!
i'm currently reading it.
It's been awhile since i "bookcrossed" i'm going to try to make a mini ring between some old time BCers...