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.羅琳， 筆 名 J.K.羅琳

原 名 喬安娜·凱瑟琳·羅琳

齣生地 英 國

齣生年 1965

生平簡介

羅琳1965年齣生，近兩年相繼推齣的以男孩哈利·波特為主人公的係列兒童小說，屢屢進入世界各地暢銷書排行榜，從而成為目前世界上最負盛名的兒童文學傢。1988年，羅琳被《書商》雜誌評選為年度最佳作傢；1999年，又被評為英國年度圖書奬得主。

代錶作品

《哈利波特》係列

作品一覽錶

哈利·波特與魔法石

哈利·波特與密室

哈利·波特與阿茲卡班的囚徒

哈利·波特與火焰杯

哈利·波特與鳳凰社

JK 羅琳通訊地址

美國

J. K. Rowling

c/o Scholastic Inc.

555 Broadway

New York, NY 10012-3999 .

英國

J. K. Rowling

c/o Bloomsbury Publishing

38 Soho Square

London W1V 5DF

昵稱: 朋友們都叫她“JO”，FANS們叫他“JK”，朋友開玩笑的時候叫她“JAKE”。

花名：同學有時奚落她叫“Rolling Pin（鏇轉的大頭針）”和“Rolling Stone（滾石）”。

齣生: 1965年7月31日，生於英國的格溫特郡的Chipping Sodbury普通醫院。

父母： 父親Peter是一名退休的飛機製造廠Rolls-Royce的管理人員，母親Ann是一位實驗室技術人員，於1990因病去逝，終年45歲。他們1963年在一列火車上一見鍾情，並結婚。

兄妹：一個妹妹，名叫Dianne，也叫Di，比羅琳小兩歲，曾經學過護士，現在愛丁堡學習法律。

配偶：1990年羅琳與一名至今未透露姓名的葡萄牙電視新聞記者簡單地結瞭婚，三年後，隨著女兒的齣世，他們離婚瞭。

傢庭成員：隻有一個女兒，叫Jessica, 生於1993年。

童年：羅琳自己說她小時候是個戴眼鏡的臉上平平的女孩，非常愛學習，有點害羞、流著鼻涕、還比較野。童年的時候，她有過兩次遷傢的經曆。一次是從Yate（布裏斯托爾港一邊）搬到Winterbourne（布裏斯托爾港另一邊），一次是從Winterbourne搬到靠近Chepstow的Tutshill的鄉村。

學曆：畢業於法國 Exeter University （埃剋塞特大學），學習法語和古典文學，獲文理學士學位。最近，獲母校授予博士學位！畢業後曾在英國曼徹斯特接受教學培訓。

處女作：她的寫作生涯是從6歲的時候，寫瞭《兔子》的故事開始的。主角是隻兔子，叫Rabbit（羅賓特）。他得瞭麻疹，朋友們來看他，其中有一隻叫Miss Bee的巨大的蜜蜂。

工作經曆：她開始做瞭一段時間的秘書。1991年，26歲的她去瞭葡萄牙去都教孩子們第二外語——英語，後來她又在愛丁堡教孩子們法語。 後來她失業瞭，成瞭靠政府救濟來生活的單親母親。

寫作哈利：開始構思哈利的故事是在1990年。她的第一本書《哈利波特與魔法石》前後共寫瞭5年，這期間，她從葡萄牙迴到瞭愛丁堡。在一間咖啡廳裏，她將女兒放在桌邊的嬰兒車上，就在女兒的吵鬧聲裏寫作。當這第一本書在1997年由Bloomsbury齣版社齣版後，她的生活發生天翻地覆地變化。她自己也成瞭英國第三富婆。

現居地：與女兒生活在蘇格蘭的愛丁堡市