Print this article E-mail this article More articles by this author

Publication Date: December 4, 2008 Publisher: Children's High Level Group / Arthur A Levine Author: · J.K. Rowling Related Sites: · Children's High Level Group Website Grade: A

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the after-party of the Harry Potter epic series -- the after-dinner mint, with the flavor of J.K. Rowling's magical world, but without the heft and weight.

Readers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will recall "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" -- particularly "The Tale of the Three Brothers" -- as being more than influential to Harry's victory. As the Brothers Grimm were to muggles, so was Beedle to the wizarding community, writing morality plays for children who just happened to grow up with magic.

The tales are, ostensibly, translated by Hermione Granger, with commentary written (months before the events of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince") by Albus Dumbledore and, when necessary, by J.K. Rowling herself. Among the stories one will find: "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," a cautionary tale about a wizard who couldn't be bothered to use his abilities to help those less fortunate; "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," uniquely entertaining with an unexpected twist as it follows three suffering witches and a luckless knight on a pilgrimage to a fountain that could remedy but one of them; "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," a gruesome story without a happy ending that shows what happens if you don't let yourself love; "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump," in which a muggle king who would be the holder of all magic and a charlatan passing himself off as a sorcerer are given their comeuppance by a modest witch who saves all of wizardry from being hunted and killed; and, finally, there is "The Tale of the Three Brothers," who encounter Death and attempt to cheat him with the gifts he offers them -- an undefeatable wand, a stone to recall the dead, and a cloak of invisibility.

The stories are great fun, and provide just enough of that old Potter feeling to take the edge off for those suffering withdrawals. And the book is for a great cause, to boot: Rowling has joined up with Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne to form the Children's High Level Group, a concern targeting the large institutions of Europe in which abandoned and orphaned children are forced to live with very little in the way of human rights. Proceeds from the sales of The Tales of Beedle the Bard will go to promoting the CHLG's efforts to help these kids, so feel free to click on that Amazon link in the upper left and order a copy or ten. (Additionally, we encourage readers to visit the CHLG's Webpage to learn more about this effort.)