JK Rowling's charity to publish 'Beedle the Bard'

Even though it's her and Harry's birthdays, JK Rowling is giving us and charity yet another gift. In a press release this morning, Scholastic announced that Jo's children's charity, the Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), will be publishing The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

You may recall last December, when Amazon.com bid $4 million to snag one of seven copies in existence at a Sotheby's auction in London. The books will be printed and distributed by Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon.

Jo had this to say: "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. 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. Royalties will be donated to the Children’s High Level Group, to benefit institutionalised children in desperate need of a voice. 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."

Scholastic predicts the book will generate around $8 million in sales - all going to benefit the CHLG.

The Children’s High Level Group works to make life better for vulnerable children across Europe, where over a million children and teenagers are growing up in unacceptable conditions in large residential institutions.