Review Detail

I’ve always liked the Harry Potter supplementary materials, mostly because I love reading things that the characters could have read. I was an especially big fan of the little book about all the beasts in the Harry Potter world, and when I was younger, I had a running list of which ones I wanted. With names. I’m dorky like that, so I had to read the ‘Tales of Beedle the Bard’ after it came out.

“The Tales of Beedle the Bard” is an enjoyable read for Potter fans but don’t expect deep literary wonders from this book. It’s just like the title says: a book of stories, which I think is awesome. They’re simple little fables and legends supposedly told to kids from magical families in the Harry Potter world, and there is commentary and analysis from Dumbledore, who Harry Potter readers are very familiar with. Also, the tales were apparently translated by Hermione Granger, so there’s another direct tie-in to the popular series. My favorite tale out of them all is “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” probably because I really like Animagi and one appears in this tale.

There is an appeal for both juvenile readers, who will probably like the stories more than the commentary, and YA readers, who will probably be more interested in the commentary and the ‘Tales’ relevance to the other Harry Potter books. If the reader is older and hasn’t read Harry Potter, they might not be so interested in these little tales. They’re not very weighty and they really are geared towards kids. However, Harry Potter readers will eat this up and enjoy what may be Rowling’s last literary foray into the Wizarding World! I guess there’s always Pottermore…