The Tales Of Beedle The Bard is a collection of fairytales for the wizarding world in which Harry Potter resides. Penned by J.K. Rowling, Tales Of Beedle The Bard is a must have for any Harry Potter fan. Though Tales Of The Beedle Bard does not relate directly to the Harry Potter story, it does hold the key to Harry Potter's defeat of Voldermort in the Final book: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Originally there were 7 handcrafted copies of Tales Of Beedle The Bard. All handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling herself. One of these copies was bought at auction house Sotherby's by Amazon for £1,950,000. The book is bound in brown Moroccan leather and features sterling silver and moonstones.

On December 4th 2008 The Tales Of Beedle The Bard was released in two forms to the general public, the standard edition and the collectors edition. I am lucky enough to own the latter, which is a replica of the original 7 handwritten books.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard contains five fairytales:

The Wizard And The Hopping Pot

The Fountain Of Fair Fortune

The Warlock's Hairy Heart

Babbitty Rabbitty And Her Cackling Stump

The Tale Of The Three Brothers

The five fairytales within The Tales Of Beedle The Bard are both magical and with meaning. To the Wizarding world of Harry Potter and his Hogwarts peers, these are 16th century fairytales as well known as Cinderella is to Muggles.

Along with the five fairytales, there is also extensive footnotes by Albus Dumbledore, giving an insight into Wizarding history and the relationship between the Wizarding world and the Muggle one.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard is a must read for any Harry Potter fan, even the casual ones. It provides that little bit extra information about the Wizarding World and its ways, and as there will not be anymore Harry Potter books, Tales Of Beedle The Bard is an excellent way to close off the series.

If you're a Harry Potter fanatic, you will definitely want the collectors edition, as it is simply stunning. Before reading a word, it is magical just to hold. I'm tempted to buy myself some white gloves to keep the pages pristine! It truly is the most beautiful thing to own as a Harry Potter fan.