What a great idea! In Full Bloom pairs folktales from all over the world with vignettes about real women--real, mature women. Each folktale/vignette exemplifies a certain trait or common experience of mature women, such as "Protecting Our Daughters" (Demeter and Persephone/Elizabeth Morgan) and "Breaking Free of Convention" (Lilith/Mae West).

Additionally, the book is broken up into two sections, Roses and Not Roses. The Roses are the traditional women, or women acting in traditional roles, while the Not Roses are untraditional women. Creeden doesn't denigrate or glorify either--she celebrates them equally and shows the reader the best sides of those roles.

Finally, Creeden includes a comprehensive collection of notes, which I particularly liked. I'm interested in folklore, so the notes gave me a good starting place for more research.

I have no problem recommending this book to everyone. Just because it's about mature women doesn't mean only they will appreciate it!

My men's book club chose this book as its nonfiction selection of the month. 7 of 8 men felt that the book added to their appreciation of women's issues. The presentation--folktales paired with short essays on strong contemporary women--gave insights we felt to be valuable.

What a delightful book! I laughed and cried. Ms. Creeden has been able to connect folktale and legend to lives of real people. Her choices are so varied we are treated to ancient tales as well as urban stories -- Women who are "Roses" and "Not Roses", well known and unknown. In doing so, she captures the essence of women's struggles and joys with both insight and wit! A good read and great examples for our own journeys!

I just read four of the 30 folk tales (all very short) contained in this book to my son's fourth grade class. It took about 30 minutes to both read all four stories and discuss their hidden meanings. For many of the children, this was the first time they had heard a folk tale, and all the kids were most intrigued by each story's characters and how justice was accomplished therein. Many of the stories' only characters are animals. I believe this book is better read to children rather than read by children. It is a superb story telling book. I recommend this as a "must book" for parents and teachers.

This collection of world folktales has a completely unique perspective from any other story collection. Author Sharon Creeden is also a trial attorney, and she has used her knowledge of law to augment the stories she has chosen. Each chapter considers a different aspect of law and includes traditional tales that reflect this theme. She follows up each story with stories from the law books that are connected to that story in some way.

As a middle school teacher, I especially like the stories in the section on juvenile justice, particularly "A Robber I Will Be," about an unruly boy who THINKS he gets his wish when he is allowed to join a band of thieves. The stories themselves are very tellable, and I can imagine any number of applications of these tales in settings or subjects that one does not usually think of when the word "storytelling" is spoken.

Every day we are exposed to news of court cases- what Creeden illustrates in an entertaining informative manner, is that there is nothing new under the sun. Before Ted Bundy there was Bluebeard. Before a woman sued Mcdonalds for hot coffee burns- there were bakers who tried to sue customers for simply smelling bread. Also King Solomon had to decide the fate of a baby long before Baby M made the news. The stories in this book are well written, good for telling (I have done so at a middle school) and great lessons to learn. Parents and teachers can make use of this book to let story (not moralizing) teach the next generation.