Harry Potter book sells for $4 million to benefit disadvantaged children

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of fairy tales created, hand-written and illustrated by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, sold for nearly $4 million at a Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) auction on Thursday.

The book is one of seven copies Rowling made, and she gave the other six away to people involved with the Harry Potter collection. The book had only been expected to fetch about $100,000, but soared far beyond that and was eventually sold to a London art agent for $4 million.

The proceeds will benefit The Children's Voice, which campaigns for rights of children who grow up in institutions, particularly in Eastern Europe. To learn more about the charity, or perhaps make it part of your holiday giving plan, visit its website.

It's impressive to see that the first thing that Rowling released upon the completion of the Harry Potter series was not another book to cash in on her name. In fact, Rowling, who is already a billionaire, won't be making any money from this book.

J.K. Rowling has conducted herself with unbelievable class, and her good works and wariness of diving right into another book should only help build anticipation for her next project.

Harry Potter fans looking for a peak of what the book consists of should head over to Amazon.com, which has a terrific series of photos and a video about the book. More photos and reviews of the stories will be uploaded.