London - A book of wizarding fairytales by Harry Potter- author Joanne K. Rowling went on sale across the world Thursday - designed to enchant millions of fans and bring fresh hope to abandoned children in state institutions in eastern Europe. The Tales Of Beedle The Bard, the first new book from the author since Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, her seventh and last in the series, has been translated into 28 languages and is expected to raise 12 million pounds (17.6 million dollars) for a charity caring for vulnerable children.
"This is an amazing Christmas present for Harry Potter fans...We expect the book to go straight to number one in the charts," said Sarah Clarke, buyer for the book chain Waterstone's.
Net proceeds from the sales will go to the Children's High Level Group (CHLG), a charity founded by Rowling and Emma Nicholson, a Liberal Party member of the European Parliament.
Based on a European Commission-backed organization of the same name run by Nicholson, the charity focuses on rebuilding children's services in five east European countries.
Its primary aim is to coordinate efforts to give new homes to 100,000 children held in state institutions in Romania, but the charity is also active in Moldova, Georgia, the Czech Republic and Armenia.
Rowling, 43, one of the world's richest women, has said she hopes that the new book - apart from making Potter fans happy - will give abandoned children a voice.
"It will encourage young people across the world to think about those who are less fortunate, and help change many young lives for the better," she said on her website.
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard were originally produced in a limited edition of just seven books, each hand-written and illustrated by the author herself.
Rowling gave six of the volumes to people who helped make Harry Potter a success, while the 7th copy was snapped up for 1.95 million pounds (4 million dollars) by online retailer Amazon at an auction a year ago.
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard have only an indirect link to the Harry Potter series, and were described by Rowling as "a wonderful way to say goodbye."
The volume of wizarding fairytales is left to Hermione Granger by Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the seventh and final Harry Potter book.
Later Thursday, Rowling was due to host a tea party for around 200 schoolchildren in Edinburgh, the city in Scotland where she started to write her acclaimed Harry Potter series.
The seven Harry Potter novels have sold 400 million copies worldwide and spawned five movies, yielding Rowling an estimated fortune of 560 million pounds.
British publishers Bloomsbury hope to sell up to 8 million copies from the first print run of The Tales of Beedle The Bard.
