The Tales of Beedle the Bard - The Scholastic Edition

On December 4, 2008, to the joy of Harry Potter fans, the Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), the English charity co-founded by J K Rowling and Emma Nicholson, published Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Tales of Beedle the Bard has a close connection to the Harry Potter series. In fact, one of the tales, “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” is recounted in the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

All three editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard were released on December 4th. The three editions of the book are all in English, with printing and distribution by Bloomsbury (UK), Scholastic (US) and Amazon. All net proceeds from the sale of the books will be donated to CHLG.

According to Scholastic,

• ”In 2007, J K Rowling produced seven individual copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Each was handwritten and illustrated on vellum, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with different semi-precious stones. Six of the books were given by the author to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books over the last 17 years; the seventh was given to CHLG and auctioned by the charity at Sotheby’s in London." (The seventh book was purchased by Amazon.)

Having read the Scholastic edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, I can recommend it as a great gift for Harry Potter fans.
Scholastic Edition: . (Children's High Level Group, December 4, 2008. ISBN: 9780545128285)

Amazon is producing up to a maximum of 100,000 Collector’s Edition copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, designed to look and feel much like the original. According to Amazon,

• ”Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon.”

Amazon Edition: . (Children's High Level Group, December 4, 2008. ISBN: 9780956010902)

According to J.K. Rowling, “The new edition will include the Tales themselves, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, and with illustrations by me, but also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters’ Archive." The five tales are "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock’s Hairy Heart," "The Tale of the Three Brothers," "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" and "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump."

According to Emma Nicholson, co-founder of the Children's High Level Group,

• "We are so thrilled to be publishing such an exclusive and special book. This unique project will raise vital funds for the work of CHLG, to help us change the lives of hundreds of thousands of marginalised and institutionalised children who are living in appalling conditions, and make sure that no future generation suffers in this way."

While each of the editions contains the same five tales, the Bloomsbury and Scholastic editions are standard editions while the Amazon edition is a much more elaborate and expensive collector's edition.
Bloomsbury Edition: Bloomsbury. (Children's High Level Group, December 4, 2008. ISBN: 9780956010902)