Rating: 
Summary: Megastar offers kids a nice little kernel of truth, but...
Review: The illustrations are rather sloppy in some places and they look like they had been rapidly sketched by Madonna's fashion designer or something. The girls themselves and all the other characters, parents included look rather like Barbie & Ken dolls and they all act like fashion models on the runway, too. But at least the girls look really pretty and trendy, which would be appealing enough to dreamy-eyed young girls into Spice Girls and Bratz. And the story itself is written with a nice wit. The fairy godmother herself is kind of a fussy shrew who shepherds the girls along as they all learn that looks are not everything. The new girl on the block, supposedly rich simply because she's so gorgeous and blonde is inadvertantly left out as a good twist of irony in the whole dog-eat-dog world of good looks and money. Should give some girls (and their mommies) with self-esteem problems a little reassurement about such crazy things that we have to go through everyday. Not a bad thing to do, Material Girl - I mean, Maternal Girl!:)
Rating: 
Summary: Gender Role Heavy
Review: Not all girls dress in designer clothes, play with other girls, and envy the blonde. This book may hit home for some girls, but it has definitely placed the idea of "what a little girl is made of" in a teeny tiny box, wrapped it with a sickenly pink (AND PUSHY) bow, and alienated any mom, daughter, sister, grandma, and neice who would rather play with frogs and bugs, wear baggy jeans, and avoid clicky girly behavior. It's belittling to the intellect of young girls. There's already enough trite, superficial, girl fodder in the world. (Icing on cake, illustrations done by a fashion person) Maybe we should expect more for ourselves and our future generations and stop fostering these gender norms, especially with something this potentially visually damaging. Pick more suitable illustrations and maybe you'd have something to work with. Considering who the author is, that'll never happen.
Rating: 
Summary: Beauty CAN be a burdon.
Review: As Madonna proves in this story of a beautiful, yet lonely girl who is an outcast among her friends. This book shows the diversity of families, and has a great message. Though it may seem a little shallow at first, I am sure there are many children who can relate to either side of the story. If you are an outcast, or have a hard time accepting people who you believe are "above "you, this book shows that things are not always as pretty as they seem on the outside. Its about getting to know people before passing judgement, and walking in someone elses shoes. Its a fun book for an 8 year old girl, or a 23 year old boy. Not to mention that its really well made, and the illustrations are colorful,and creative. Buy this and read it to a child in your life, or keep it on your coffee table like I do.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful and sweet-Great Book!
Review: My daughter, of five, just LOVED this book and its illustrations. She just loved the "English Roses" and was happy that they included Binah as their own at the end. Madonna, "mum", I'm glad you put your wonderful story telling talent on paper! I grew up loving you through music, now my children (I have three) can grow up loving you through your words and pictures. Looking forward to your next book! Great artwork, too! A must for little one's libraries!
Rating: 
Summary: The English Roses are beautiful
Review: I think this book is right on. It is a beautifully written and illustrated book. My 6 year old daughter loved it and related to it. We've all been "green" with envy before haven't we? This is a lesson that all of us can learn from and incorporate into our own lives, especially our daughters. Madonna is a strong and accomplished woman and motherhood definitely suits her well. Can't wait to read the other four books to follow...
Rating:
Summary: Also
Review: its not about the book....it may be bad...it may be good. I have not read it yet. However, did you know that Madonna does not get any of the money from this? It goes to a childrens charity. And have you noticed that Madonna does not even include a picture of herself? Madonna is not looking for the attention of this. She simply released a book and that's all.
Rating:
Summary: A very *cute* childrens story with wit to boot.!
Review: I didn't expect much of this book. I mean Madonna writing a childrens book? What next? Anyways I think that people writing "Oh, Madonna is materialistic and can't write anything worthwhile and is just trying to make money, yada yada yada." Appearently she isn't making money from this, it is going to some organization for children. And as for materialistic. Well actually this book is anything but. It is about bout the English Roses. Four girls who are jealous of a new girl named Bhina because she is absolutely beautiful and good at everything. And they hate her only because of that and without knowing what she is really like. So they are being rather shallow, but this is a childrens book so of course they come to find out things about Bhina that changes their opinion in the end. It is well written, and is heart warming. I did care about the characters, and that's an acheivment in such a short book. And it had some very good wit in it. I loved the narration. It was great. The characters were real and it was a cute fanatasy. I think it sends a great message that you should NEVER judge book by its cover. And really who would know that better then Madonna? I'm not normally a fan of Madonna(In fact I was too quick to judge and think it would be absolutely dreadful being from Madonna.), but I read this in the bookstore out of curiosity. Since it is just childrens book it didn't take long. And I was very suprized by how good it was. So I have to give Madonna props for trying to write something positive and succeeding. :D And maybe some of you who pretend to have read, could read it and learn from the example it sets. :p God Bless ~Amy
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Kids and Glorious to Observe
Review: Madonna's first children's book is ace. A dream for parents and children alike, it is a story of overcoming jealousy and envy and not judging a book by its cover. Speaking of covers, the artwork illustrations in the book are nothing short of astonishing. Immaculately produced and written, highly recommended. Only for the educated minded and only for people who can get past the Madonna negative media slant. I can't wait for the next book.
Rating:
Summary: What about the illustrator?
Review: This is the first children's book I've seen that doesn't give front cover credit to the illustrator. Pictures are just as important as words for making a successful children's book. Other famous-name authors such as Toni Morrison and Jamie Lee Curtis share credit on the cover; why not Madonna? PS Jeffrey Fulvimari, five stars for the artwork!
Rating: 
Summary: Nice first draft. Now, when do we get to see the book?
Review: In Madonna's "The English Roses," every author will recognize her or his first and worst overly-long and overly-"SCAD" attempt at a picture book. "SCAD" is editorial shorthand for the Four Mortal Sins of Picture Book Writing: Sentimentality, Condescension, Anthropomorphism (a sin the author in question did not commit) and Didacticism. The publisher, Callaway Editions, appears to have given the children's editorial staff a day off while Madonna's manuscript was being considered, as their list includes several strikingly illustrated and well-written picture books. The premise alone is outlandish enough to net a rejection by the second sentence in the cover letter. A perfectly beautiful girl named Binah is ostracized by four perfectly beautiful girls named Nicole, Amy, Charlotte and Grace, just because she's so pretty and smart and good at sports. The four, known collectively as The English Roses, have their eyes opened by a fairy godmother who shows them, in their dreams, Binah's sad unseen life. 'Scuse me, but isn't it the homely child, the crippled, the four-eyed geek who's excluded from the beautiful peoples' fun and companionship? Wull, yeah, but why muck up a fairy tale with a smidge of gritty realism? Oh, it's NOT a fairy tale because the setting is the present day? Then what is it? Strike one. The narrator constantly cuts in with little disciplinary barbs that probably cracked up the author every time she reread them but only serve to trigger the Condescension alarm so loudly that the fire department dispatched a hook-and-ladder unit. Strike two. The protagonist and antagonists are pre-teens but the book is catalogued as a picture book for 4 to 8 year olds. It has no clearly targeted audience. To most children 8 and under, 10 years old is ancient, and today's 10-and-ups whose minds have been stretched and tickled by J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket will probably think you're joking if you recommend "The English Roses". Strike three. Normally, that's enough for most editors to yell "Yer out!" while reaching for a pre-printed rejection letter, but this is Madonna, so even the chiseled-in-stone 32-page limit for a picture book goes out the window. The book plods along over 48 pages but a library assistant friend said it felt more like 84 pages when she read it at story time this weekend. When she announced the title of the book and the author's name, one of the children in the story circle pointed to the platinum-blonde outcast Binah on the cover and asked "Is that Madonna?" Spooky, eh? Judging from the fidgeting and glances aside at something more interesting (like the clock), her young audience behaved as if they were sitting through 480 pages. UPDATE: My library assistant friend says her branch now has 6 copies of "The English Roses," none acquired with public funds. The one she read from was a gift to the library and arrived in virgin condition. The others were donated as used books. One parent admitted she was dropping it off because her children never asked to have it read again after hearing it once, preferring instead a well-worn copy of Robert Lopshire's "Put Me in the Zoo," a story nearly as old as Madonna herself. Critics who live to chew up and spit out first-works of this type are instead forgiving one writing gaffe after another (and there are plenty) where they would have attacked Ms. Anyone Else's similar first effort with a viciousness intended to end the newbie's career. The oft-cried argument "Forget who wrote it! Just READ IT!" rings hollow, even when Madonna is measured against the short list of celebrities (Jamie Lee Curtis, John Lithgow, to name a pair) who've proven they can create children's books that compare favorably with the best. But for who wrote it, this book would never have seen ink unless the author deliberately bypassed the time-honored bumpy road to publication and found a publisher who'd pave her a smooth path by not applying the same strict editorial standards. A-ha! "But the money goes to charity! Cut her some slack!" The charity that receives the proceeds is the Los Angeles branch of Spirituality for Kids, a school in which Madonna's daughter Lourdes is enrolled. Wouldn't a direct donation have spared the acres of trees that were mowed down for the first press run of 1,000,000 copies? If "The English Roses" had been written and submitted to traditional publishers by Jane Doe, everyone on Publishers' Row would have sent the manuscript back with the advice that Ms. Doe read at least a hundred picture books published over the last 20 years before trying again. Ms. Doe would not be able to submit her work to Callaway Editions because they're not listed on WritersMarket.com or in Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. Basically, what we have here is a flabby first draft illustrated, ironically, with pencil-thin pre-teen hotties-in-waiting. In the hands of a competent editor, it could have turned into a serviceable picture book.
| 
