The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

I'm going to admit right here that I didn't think a whole lot about reading this book when I learned it was coming out. I didn't get excited when I saw it appear on bookstore posters, or count down the days until it hit the shelves. Harry Potter was enough for me. I loved the books, I was happy with how they ended, and I didn't feel any need to add to them.

But then around Christmastime a handful of people I knew began reading the book, and then talking about the book, and I was hearing pretty positive things. I don't know if I would have sought it out on my own eventually, but by the time a copy of the book fell into my hands, my curiosity had already been piqued.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is not a very long book - the spine is thin and the print is large. It probably took me under an hour total, reading a story at a time before bed for several nights. For those who are not in the know, the Tales are sort of like the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales of the Harry Potter world, and five stories are interspersed with commentary by Dumbledore about their historical significance, their connections to wizarding lore, and what they say about the wizard and human spirit.

You definitely have to be a Harry Potter fan to enjoy the book, but I am and I did. The stories and commentary are engaging. I think including commentary, even fictionalized commentary, the way Rowling did was a little risky. It created the possibility of closing off interpretation, and telling us what to think about the stories instead of letting us think for ourselves. But I thought Rowling handled it quite well, and the stories actually do make you think. It is still children's literature at its heart, but just as with the Harry Potter books, there is a surprising depth and darkness to the stories, that still doesn't overshadow the fact that this is also just a fun, quick read.

I imagine it must be great fun to create a world in order to tell a story, with not only characters, places, and rules, but its own culture and history, its own legends and even fairy tales. It occurred to me as I read that I'm just a little envious of J. K. Rowling.