As explained in the introduction by the author, John Yeoman, these folktales are not the common folktales frequently told, but are the older, oral folktales once told somewhere around the world by a storyteller long ago.  The folktales mostly contain magic and it’s either the underdog or the innocent who are the victors.  As the stories are read, one can imagine an old storyteller telling the tale.  The tempo, the language, the outrageousness of the stories, give the illusion of a seasoned storyteller.  This would make an excellent addition to any library and also to any home with children or grandchildren.  Well done!

Every time I read an Amelia Rules! graphic novel, I start it and think it’s a hot mess and the story is all over the place, and this time is no different.  But as I get into the story, there is always some redeeming quality of Amelia that wins me over and I end up enjoying the story.  After messing around in the morning, Amelia is late for school and ends up working with a girl on her enemy list, one whom she absolutely can’t stand.  They have to work on a project about Nancy Reagan only Amelia doesn’t do her part and research who Nancy Reagan even is.  This causes a lot of bickering and name-calling.  They eventually get their project done but it’s terrible and they earn a grade of F-.  Their teacher is so upset with them that they each earn an hour of detention time.  But lo and behold, they actually use the detention time to figure out that they shouldn’t be mortal enemies and it was all a big misunderstanding.  They even go so far as to figure out that the people they hang out with contributed to the misunderstanding.  What they realize is that they actually have a lot in common and become friends.  I just love these Amelia Rules! books because the kids learn about life in such a natural way and I hope that readers of these books can use the advice.

This book gives a synopsis or brief biography of the important people on both sides of the American Revolution, along with an image of what the person looked like.  As a teacher of the American Revolution to fifth graders, I appreciate the format in which the people are laid out as either Patriot, British, or women.  Usually books have everyone lumped together and unless you’re familiar with the names, it’s hard to know which side they were on.  This book makes it very clear who the team players were.

Apples A to Z is an alphabet book demonstrating how each and every letter in the alphabet can relate to apples.  I particularly enjoy the G is for grafting, V is for varieties, and Y is for yield, one I don’t usually see but make sense.  (X and Z are pretty lame, but it always is hard to come up with something for those two letters.)  Also included at the back are ‘apple’ jokes, sayings, and interesting facts.  The illustrations revolve around woodland and farm animals and are enjoyable and pleasing, without being too busy, as seems to be the trend these days.  The book is familiar and calming, as well as giving good information.  This book will be a sure winner with primary grade teachers come every fall and the start of school.

As part of the series, Asian Animals,Tigers gives a brief synopsis of how the continent was formed, the many languages contained therein, countries, culture, and people.  There is a map of where the tigers actually live in Asia and how their habitat is shrinking due to change.  The author mentions that there used to be nine different types of tigers, but that only six remain.  I wish she would have listed and compared the nine types or at least the remaining six types, accompanied with a photo of each type.  Why mention it at all if you don’t plan on showing them more?  The photographs of tigers are beautiful and clear.  The rest of the information is pretty common.

The honest, evenly balanced research and writing of Denver Nicks in Private Bradley Manning, Wikileaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History is refreshing.  Nicks assessment of situations, inferences from thousands of both email transcripts and personal interviews, and wry writing style give a fair critique of both t Manning and the U.S. government’s responsibility for the leak to happen at all.  Woven throughout this battle, of course, is the entity of Wikileaks itself, with Julian Assange at the helm.  Readers will not only get a history lesson, but two biographies to boot.  Nicks braids the story of Bradley Manning, from his entry into the Armed Forces to his detention at Quantico and beyond, with that of Assange, a hacker turned self-righteous solicitor of information and money, though his rule over Wikileaks ironically turns out to be more autocratic than one would think Wikileaks would allow.  Much interesting information is given about the positive connotation of the hacker community in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.  Had Bradley Manning been born 20 years earlier and had found a safe haven with his sexuality, his intelligence would have gotten him much farther in the “Information should be free” world.  But Manning has manic periods brought on by so many reasons, all of which are fairly and tastefully explored by Nicks. And his choice to pursue a military career is the perfect storm.  This text holds a wealth of information and should be in all college and public libraries.

This is an amazing true story.  I enjoyed the beautiful pictures, and the way the story helps you feel the emotions of Emily.  what a beautiful,  comforting story.  It would be fun not only to read, but to have it read to you.