BOOK REVIEW: The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J. K. Rowling

Released: December 4, 2008 (Bloomsbury)
Author Links: WEB | TWITTER | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK
Source: Library

Genre: Children’s Fantasy, Companion Book

Buy Now From: Amazon
Add This Book on Goodreads

SYNOPSIS:
The Tales of Beedle the Bard contains five richly diverse fairy tales, each with its own magical character, that will variously bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril.

Additional notes for each story penned by Professor Albus Dumbledore will be enjoyed by Muggles and wizards alike, as the Professor muses on the morals illuminated by the tales, and reveals snippets of information about life at Hogwarts.

A uniquely magical volume, with illustrations by the author, J.K. Rowling, that will be treasured for years to come.

Why I Read This Book

Really, I shouldn’t even have to say — HARRY POTTER! Isn’t that reason enough?

My Thoughts

It has been a few years since I read the last Harry Potter book. I remember when the last book came out, I practically devoured the whole thing in a day, reading it in any spare moment of time I had. But when the companion books came out — The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and Quidditch Through the Ages — I showed no interest. I’m not sure why, maybe I felt like reading them would ruin the Harry Potter experience for me.

However, after seeing all the movies, finally, and getting to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida this past Christmas, when I saw this book at the local library, I thought it was time that I snatch it up.

A small tome, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of five fairytales, all told from a more magical perspective. Accompanying each fairytale — all of which are translated by Hermione Granger — are detailed notes by Professor Dumbledore.

I put off writing this review for about a week because I thought I would be a bad Harry Potter fan for saying that I didn’t really enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong — there were parts that I really liked, especially the printed Three Brothers story that was told in one of the Harry Potter movies (again, bad fan — can’t remember which). In fact, the fairy tales themselves were probably my favourite part of the book.

What I didn’t like was the almost textbook and essay-like notes of Dumbledore. Aside from the odd part that made me smile, I found them to be quite dull and boring. Reading them made me want to go back and read the Harry Potter books because surely, I thought, they weren’t written in the same way. The fairytales kept my interest, but I found that I just wanted to skip over the dull footnotes and commentary, rather than read all the way through.

While I love Harry Potter, especially the books and the movies, and the amazing ride in Florida, I have to say that I might not read any of the other companion books to the series. I just feel like I would be even more disappointed.Now, if you buy the book, it looks like the money goes to charity, which is a nice touch, but I’m kind of glad I just got it at the library.

I would recommend this for die-hard Harry Potter fans only.