There's big Harry Potter news today... which is very fitting, considering that today happens to be the birthday of both Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling.
Shortly after publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling wrote the fairytales of Beedle the Bard mentioned in the 7th book. However, the book was never published... six copies were given to friends and the seventh copy was auctioned off for charity. Interestingly enough, the winning bidder in the auction was Amazon.com.
(Warning: If you click on the announcements below, they contain spoilers for the sixth book.)
It was just announced that the Tales of Beedle the Bard will be published on December 4, 2008 and will include both the tales themselves (translated by Hermione) and commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Both a standard edition (for $12.99) and a collector's edition (for $100) will be available. The royalties for the book will go to J.K. Rowling's charity: the Children's High Level Group.
I'm thrilled about this development. I throughly enjoyed the other two books J.K. Rowling wrote for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I'm delighted to see Beedle the Bard in print, and happy to support a charity. This way, the fairytales will be accessible to everyone, and become part of the Harry Potter canon. I'm also wondering (although it's hard to tell without having read the stories themselves yet) if this book will be a way to introduce younger children to J.K. Rowling's writing.
Thank you, J.K. Rowling, and happy birthday!
What do you think about the publication of the Tales of Beedle the Bard? See the new polls in the sidebar.
Now I've just got to read the entire series so I can read this! (I never finished book five, I think it was, and figured I'd just start over again one day.)
ReplyDeleteJules, 7-Imp
P.S. Is that blasphemy to a fan like you? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited about this!!!! I am not-so-secretly lusting after the collector's edition and am telling everyone that NOW, because, as we know, it comes out in time for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIt would be silly though, to buy the standard one on December 4th and then hope I get the swanky one 21 days later, right? Because I'm not sure I can wait three weeks. But then I'd have 2 copies, which seems wasteful, but...
I'm all twitterpated. :)
Jules-
ReplyDeleteNope, I don't consider it blasphemy at all. A lot of people give up around the 5th book (which I think is the toughest to slog through). My advice is to start from the beginning again (if you have the time or inclination)... read them straight through and then push on to Books 6 and 7. It's worth it.
Jennie-
I'm so excited too! And I've also been dropping hints about the collector's edition (though I don't know if it'll work. =)
I'll have to buy the standard one as soon as it comes out... how could you not?