Charity edition of Harry Potter book to go on sale
Tales of Beedle the Bard to go on sale in support of children's charity
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Thursday, 31, Jul 2008 12:35
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales from the Harry Potter series, is to go on sale in support of a children's charity.
The book, created, written and illustrated by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, will go on sale on Thursday December 4th with all proceeds from regular and collector's editions going to the Children's High Level Group (CHLG) charity.
In the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter's friend Hermione Grainger is given a copy of the book – a collection of fairytales – by Albus Dumbledore to help in the quest to defeat Lord Voldemort.
And a handwritten copy of the book - one of only seven in existence at the time - sold at auction for £1.95 million last December.
In celebration of Harry Potter's birthday on July 31st, CHLG has announced that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be published with a £6.99 edition to feature additional commentary on each fairytale from Professor Dumbledore and an introduction by Rowling.
Amazon will also produce up to a maximum of 100,000 Collector's Editions which will aim to closely replicate the look and feel of the original tales.
"There was understandable disappointment among Harry Potter fans when only one copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was offered to the public last December," said JK Rowling.
I am therefore delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon [who bought the handwritten copy at auction] - and with the blessing of the wonderful people who own the other six original books - The Tales of Beedle the Bard will now be widely available to all Harry Potter fans."
CHLG, founded by Rowling, works to make life better for vulnerable children across Europe, providing over a million children and teenagers with food, shelter and crucial human or emotional contact and stimulation.
"We are so thrilled to be publishing such an exclusive and special book," said the charity's co-founder Emma Nicholson MEP.
"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."