Spring Break
Tales of Beedle the Bard hits bookstores
J. K. Rowling's latest collection from the wizard world now on sale
Katie Taylor
Issue date: 1/13/09 Section: Features
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Although Harry Potter and his friends are not a part of these stories, fans will be pleased to note that The Tales of Beedle the Bard is based on the book that Harry's friend, Hermione Granger, received as a gift from Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In Deathly Hallows, Hermione translates Beedle's Tales from ancient runes. After translating the story of "The Three Brothers," Hermione uncovers the lore centered on the three Deathly Hallows. Doing so enables her to help her friends Harry and Ron in their quest to find said Hallows and defeat Lord Voldemort.
Not only is The Tales of Beedle the Bard a good addition to the Harry Potter collection, but also a great original compendium of folk tales. Yet again J. K. Rowling displays her extraordinary talent for storytelling with Beedle the Bard. Rowling enchanted the world with her novels of the young orphan wizard, Harry, and now proves that she can also produce short stories that rival the likes of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. Much like selections from Grimm's Fairytales, Rowling's magic folklore has morals for witches and wizards to adhere to. The most prevalent underlying theme in Tales of Beedle the Bard is that magic should be dealt with cautiously and only for positive purposes.
The Harry Potter empire now has a collection of 10 books: the seven novels in the original Potter series plus The Tales of the Beedle Bard, Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The first five books in the series have since been made into Blockbuster movie hits and the sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is slated to arrive in theaters on July 17, 2009.
This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.
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