In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard (available December 4, 2008) and Amazon is thrilled to exclusively offer a luxuriously packaged Collector's Edition designed to evoke the spirit of the handcrafted original.

Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes a handwritten version of J.K. Rowling's new 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.

Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take matters into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and that "magic causes as many problems as it solves, and to this day it is often Beedle's stories that help the parent explain this fact of life to their young sons and daughters."

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."

Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.

Net proceeds from this Collector's Edition and the Standard Edition support of the Children's High Level Group, a charity co-founded in 2005 by J K Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP to make life better for vulnerable children. (The Children's High Level Group is a charity registered in England and Wales under registered charity number 1112575.)

J.K.罗琳， 笔 名 J.K.罗琳

原 名 乔安娜·凯瑟琳·罗琳

出生地 英 国

出生年 1965

生平简介

罗琳1965年出生，近两年相继推出的以男孩哈利·波特为主人公的系列儿童小说，屡屡进入世界各地畅销书排行榜，从而成为目前世界上最负盛名的儿童文学家。1988年，罗琳被《书商》杂志评选为年度最佳作家；1999年，又被评为英国年度图书奖得主。

代表作品

《哈利波特》系列

作品一览表

哈利·波特与魔法石

哈利·波特与密室

哈利·波特与阿兹卡班的囚徒

哈利·波特与火焰杯

哈利·波特与凤凰社

JK 罗琳通讯地址

美国

J. K. Rowling

c/o Scholastic Inc.

555 Broadway

New York, NY 10012-3999 .

英国

J. K. Rowling

c/o Bloomsbury Publishing

38 Soho Square

London W1V 5DF

昵称: 朋友们都叫她“JO”，FANS们叫他“JK”，朋友开玩笑的时候叫她“JAKE”。

花名：同学有时奚落她叫“Rolling Pin（旋转的大头针）”和“Rolling Stone（滚石）”。

出生: 1965年7月31日，生于英国的格温特郡的Chipping Sodbury普通医院。

父母： 父亲Peter是一名退休的飞机制造厂Rolls-Royce的管理人员，母亲Ann是一位实验室技术人员，于1990因病去逝，终年45岁。他们1963年在一列火车上一见钟情，并结婚。

兄妹：一个妹妹，名叫Dianne，也叫Di，比罗琳小两岁，曾经学过护士，现在爱丁堡学习法律。

配偶：1990年罗琳与一名至今未透露姓名的葡萄牙电视新闻记者简单地结了婚，三年后，随着女儿的出世，他们离婚了。

家庭成员：只有一个女儿，叫Jessica, 生于1993年。

童年：罗琳自己说她小时候是个戴眼镜的脸上平平的女孩，非常爱学习，有点害羞、流着鼻涕、还比较野。童年的时候，她有过两次迁家的经历。一次是从Yate（布里斯托尔港一边）搬到Winterbourne（布里斯托尔港另一边），一次是从Winterbourne搬到靠近Chepstow的Tutshill的乡村。

学历：毕业于法国 Exeter University （埃克塞特大学），学习法语和古典文学，获文理学士学位。最近，获母校授予博士学位！毕业后曾在英国曼彻斯特接受教学培训。

处女作：她的写作生涯是从6岁的时候，写了《兔子》的故事开始的。主角是只兔子，叫Rabbit（罗宾特）。他得了麻疹，朋友们来看他，其中有一只叫Miss Bee的巨大的蜜蜂。

工作经历：她开始做了一段时间的秘书。1991年，26岁的她去了葡萄牙去都教孩子们第二外语——英语，后来她又在爱丁堡教孩子们法语。 后来她失业了，成了靠政府救济来生活的单亲母亲。

写作哈利：开始构思哈利的故事是在1990年。她的第一本书《哈利波特与魔法石》前后共写了5年，这期间，她从葡萄牙回到了爱丁堡。在一间咖啡厅里，她将女儿放在桌边的婴儿车上，就在女儿的吵闹声里写作。当这第一本书在1997年由Bloomsbury出版社出版后，她的生活发生天翻地覆地变化。她自己也成了英国第三富婆。

现居地：与女儿生活在苏格兰的爱丁堡市