Written by: J.K. Rowling.
Publisher: Bloomsbury.
Format: Hardback.
Released: 4th December 2008.
Ratiting: 4.5/5
Any readers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be aware of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. A book left to Hermione by Dumbledore after his death at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In it, is the story important enough to help Harry defeat Lord Voldemort. The Tale of the Three Brothers.
In late 2007, JKR produced seven hand-written copies of the book, featuring 5 tales. Fans feared that they would never be able to read the tales, but then in the Summer of 2008, JKR announced the publication of the book for charity! Yay! I for one was over the moon and could not wait.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard feature 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump' and 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'.
All five of the tales are superbly written and features specific moral messages. My favourite of the five tales has to be The Fountain of Fair Fortune. It's just brilliant. So rich in Jo's brilliant story-telling. The best written of the five. The story is also my favourite because of the actual plot of the story. It just teaches you that what you sometimes think you need, you actually don't.
Out of the five tales, there's only really one duff one, and that's Babbitty Rabbity. It is a good tale, but at the same time, it just isn't as strong as the other four stories.
For JK fans the world over, this is a brilliant collection that should be added to any respecting fans collection!
(N.b. Reviewed this because in my quest of packing today, I stumbled across my copy and had to have a read. Only took an hour and a half to read the whole book.)
