The tales of Jeremy Beadle (The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling
Date:	26/10/09 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well presented

Disadvantages: Tales are a little uninspiring

Let's face it, any spin-off from the uber-popular Harry Potter franchise is going to be a lucrative and sought after commodity - so J.K. Rowlings 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' was destined for commercial success long before it hit the shops in December last year.

In the final Harry Potter novel, a wizarding book of fairytales is mentioned - a compilation of short shories which has been popular bedtime reading for the magical youth for centuries. And The Tales of Beedle the Bard is just that; a collection of tales written by the muggle (non-magical) equivalent of Hans Christian Anderson, or The Brothers Grimm.

The book itself is around A5 in size, and has a decorative blue cover. Inside, the pages are slightly off-white and look a little aged, which, when combined with the traditional looking monochrome illustrations, makes for a well presented collection of stories.

It's important to note that The Tales of Beedle the Bard can be read through fairly quickly - I started last night and finished it in around an hour or so - therefore, those expecting a lengthy read will perhaps be a little disappointed.

The book contains five short stories, each featuring a different magical character. The stories have a moral undercurrant, and as such, are similar to Muggle bedtime stories - one difference however (and this is explained in the introduction by JK Rowling herself) is the fact that the witches and wizards in these magical stories are much more active in seeking their fortune than the characters in regular human fairytales.

After each story, there are a series of notes written by Professor Dumbledore, where he explores his feelings about the text, and tries to decipher their real message. I think that for the hardcore Potter fans, this will be the main draw of the book, as it's almost like an extension of The Harry Potter novels themselves - albeit a slightly lame extension.

The stories are interesting, although they aren't that inspiring and feel a little rushed. That said, there is a lesson to be learned from the text in each one, and parents reading to kids may well appreciate the moral messages.

All in all, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a fairly interesting Harry Potter spin-off which will provide a couple of hours of mild entertainment. If you take a step back however, it's rather obvious that if the book wasn't connected to the Harry Potter franchise, then it would be little more than a rather average collection of short tales - certainly not a must-have.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard has a retail price of £6.99, and for each book sold, £1.61 gets donated to the Children's High Level Group charity.

ISBN: 978-0-7475-9987-6

Summary: Harry Potter Spinoff