The Tales of Beedle the Bard by Albus Dumbledore, former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is described as a popular collection of Wizarding children's fairy tales, so that while Ron Weasley is familiar with the stories, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had not previously heard of them due to their non-magical upbringing. The book Hermione receives in Dumbledore's will is a copy of the original edition of the fictional book. It is described as an ancient-looking small book with its binding "stained and peeling in places". In the novel it is also said the book has a title on its cover, written
What Is the What distinct voice." In 2007 The Ohio State University selected the novel as one of two choices for the freshmen book club, and distributed thousands of copies to incoming students. Duke University required the incoming Class of 2012 to read the novel, praising its literary merit. The University of Maryland chose it as their freshman book in 2009. Macalester College required all incoming freshmen to read it in 2011. The University of Maine required first-year students in its Honors College to read the novel in 2012. The novel inspired some of the lyrics from David Byrne and Brian Eno's album "Everything