The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition
In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, available December 4, 2008.
Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and "that magic causes as much trouble as it cures."

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."

Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.

Lovely tales that also Muggles enjoy! :)

International bookring

This is a small and light hardback, should fit through most letterboxes

Guidelines:
PM me to join
Last day to sign up: Sunday 29th March 2009
You must be willing to mail worldwide to join (economy/surface mail more than fine!)
Make a JE when you receive the book
Read the book within 10 days
Contact the next person on the list for their address
Make a JE saying what you thought of the book
Send the boo along

Questions? Please PM me!

Participants:

Niora, Finland
Babelfisk, Sweden
Vilda, Sweden
Kalise, Austria
ReetPetite, UK
Allthesepieces, USA
Bearyfriend, Singapore
Back to me, Sobergirl

This pretty book arrived in the mail this morning. Thanks Sobergirl, I'll read it quickly and then pass it on to the next ring participant!

As expected, this small book was a quick read. These little volumes Rowling has written for charity purposes tend to make light but enjoyable reading, with enough slightly quirky humor inserted (this time, in the form of Dumbledore's notes) to draw some surprise smiles even from an adult reader. The stories themselves have much in common with Muggle fairy tales for children, right down to the fantasy setting and content which create the "a long time ago and very far away, and this sort of stuff just doesn't happen even in magical real life" feeling, so Dumbledore's analyses and explanations of the historical background of story themes and details were doubly welcome. And Rowling's jab at "retold to be suitable for children" versions of fairytales downright made me laugh.

I already own all the Potter books and the previous charity books, and I think I'll buy my own copy of this one as soon as I can, too. But thanks for the chance to read it before that, Sobergirl! I'll mail the book to babelfisk today.

The book arrived yesterday. I'll read as soon as I can.

A very nice and easy-to-read book. It's leaving for Vilda.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Lättläst och trevlig!

Found it in the mail today. Im looking forward to read it!

A cute but very easily digested childrens book. A smart way of selling a bland book just for the sake of the name of the author. But of course I'm all in for the charitythingy :)

Sending the book to kalise today.

Received the book here in Austria! Thank you Vilda for sending it to me, and Thank you to Sobergirl for giving me the opportunity to read this lovely little book! :-)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Stories could have had a bit more depth, but otherwise it was a lovely read! I especially liked the last story. Now I feel like re-reading the entire Harry Potter series ... ;-)

I sent the book today on to the next person in line!

Enjoy! :-)

Thanks Kalise

A very quick book to read. The tales themselves aren't that great but the comments by Dumbledore (and JKR) are. I liked the comments after 'The Hairy Heart' saying that there is a self help book for witches and wizards called 'The Hairy Heart' for those who have problems with commitment.
Thanks for sharing Sobergirl.
I'll PM Allthesepieces for their address.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to allthesepieces. Enjoy :)

The book arrived safely with this morning's mail. Since it seems like a quick read, I'm going to send the next participant a PM tonight so as to keep things moving quickly.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this. I'll post another entry once I've finished reading it.

This have been a little crazy around here, and I kept this one a little longer than I should have. Sorry, everyone!

I hope to finish my review of this book by the end of the day. (I'll be back to edit this entry.) But for now, I just wanted to let everyone know that the book is ok.

I'll be sending it off to Singapore tomorrow. Thanks for the opportunity to read this!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to Singapore! Happy reading!

Got it, thanks for sending and sharing. It's a small book with fairytales and illustrations, think I will like it.

Delightful read. I salute JK Rowling for her wild imagination to come up with such wonderful stories, creating characters like Prof Dumbledore, Beatrix Bloxam who was said to have written the infamous 'Toadstool Tales' as well as references to Animagi or schools like the WADA (Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts) etc... as if they really existed once upon a time. I like best 'Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump' and 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot'. Find the Babbitty Rabbitty one quite similar to the muggle fairy tale "Emperor's New Clothes", excluding the magic.

Thanks Sobergirl for sharing. Book back to you.

Thank you everyone for participating in the bookring!
The book is now back home awaiting new adventures!

Travelling to a fellow BCer as SGG surprise! Enjoy!

I recived it today!

Thank you Sobergirl!