JK Rowling has completed her first book not to feature teen wizard Harry Potter-an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Only seven copies of the book are being printed, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children's charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.Rowling drew the illustrations herself and provided the handwriting for the five stories that make up the collection of fairytales.The Tales of Beedle the Bard is mentioned in the final Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as a gift left by headmaster Albus Dumbledore to Harry’s friend Hermione, and provides clues that help destroy evil Lord Voldemort.'The Tales of Beedle the Bard is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years,” Rowling said in a statement.The volume, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with silver and semiprecious stones, will be auctioned at Sotheby’s on December 13 with a starting price of $62,000. Proceeds will go to The Children's Voice, a charity that helps vulnerable children across Europe.
