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Summary: DON'T JUDGE A BOOK TILL YOU READ IT
Review: This book is fantastic. It teaches children to push aside their jealousy and envy of one another and the importance of compassion and love. I'm sick of people judging Madonna by what she has done in her past. She truly is a role model for all of us. Her ambiton and drive to suceed at being a great artist and mother is something we should all look up to. Well done Madonna... ...
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD LESSONS FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
Review: I found this book to be a fairly decent book for everyone. Although there are some cliches throughout, it reads well, and reminds all of us to becareful how we judge others.
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Read
Review: Okay, so The English Roses is by Madonna. Great, we know that much and many people also have opinions about Madonna. However, the book itself is a fun read, and I agree that it is cleverly told. ... If you're interested in neatly-illustrated and charmingly-told morality tales for kids, this book is a nice addition to your collection.
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Summary: another book about jealousy... with beautiful illustrations
Review: There are amazing children's books in the world. The best ones have a gripping story that has within it or under it a lesson or message. Anyone can find a lesson that needs to be taught to children through a book, such as "Jealousy is Bad". An author's strength is not in finding the lesson but in creating a book that tells a story and provides decorations and trappings within which is hidden the lesson the book wants to teach.Madonna seemed not even to have attempted to "hide" her message within an original story. A group of friends neglects a beautiful girl, then is told by a fairy that the girls life is actually much harder than they think and therefore they should be accepting of her. Then the girls are accepting of her. Wow. Madonna usues far too many words on a page - things that in a well written book could have been written in a sentance or two are repeated and explained as though the child needs to have "Jealousy is Bad" drilled into his head by force. That's not the way to go about it. The only thing that this skeletal story is hidden in and decorated with is the amazing collection of illustrations scattered about every page of the book. They are the only thing that give the book a unique feel, seeming even to enhance the bland text. Were the book to be written out on a peice of paper it would be far less charming, or not at all so. And one thing more - though I do not like this book in particular, it is extremely annoying that other people posted reviews here just to dis madonna and not having read the book. ...
Rating:
Summary: Really Cute
Review: I teach first grade and this is a great book to use when teaching how to treat others. It's sweet and simple. The moral of the story is clear and the illustrations are great.
I'm not quite sure what the hoopla about Madonna being the author is. Why do your children even know who she is? I dont let my daughter watch MTV or read up on Madonna's antics. She's a child and those things are inappropriate for children. This, however is a children's book, and completely appropriate even coming from Madonna.
I recommend this book. I cant say enough about how great the illustrations are. So cleverly done.
Rating:
Summary: charming
Review: wow i cannot believe the displeasure over the material girl's book!, of course i can understand that their are many people out their whom do not support madonna and her artistic expressions, but oh boy thats not fair to bash her book like that. If anything the book was beautiful and quite humurous and clearly painted the perfect portrait of what many little girls go through. The book helps to show that apperances really arent everything, and i think that in the type of society we currently live in, this is the right type of book for children to understand this at a young age!
Rating:
Summary: Very Charming
Review: Like a lot of us, I bought this book because Madonna was the writer and I basically wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I was plesantly surprised to read a very charming story that deals with envy and jelousy, two issues that are at the core of every teenage girl angst and the reason for why a lot of girls today are ostracized in schools. We need more of these topics to bring this issue to the forefront.
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Summary: Refreshing Style And Great Content
Review: I liked this book more that I thought I would. This is clearly a book written for girls. Anyone with daughters ( I have two ) will appreciate how the story protrays how girls can be arbitrarily cruel and cliquey. The twist in this story makes the lesson of inclusion heartfelt without being preachy. The book is beautifully illustrated. I will definitely purchase her next book based on the content of this one. I buy alot of childrens books, and I found this one refreshing in style. My nine and five year old girls love it too !!
Rating:
Summary: M Creates a Classic
Review: The English Roses is Madonna's first in a series of children's books based on the teachings of the Kabbalah Center. This first book is about jealousy and envy among a group of school girls -- with a group of friends being envious of a girl named Binah (the hebrew word for wisdom) who at first glance seems to be perfect and "have it all" -- from beauty to intelligence to athletic prowess. During the course of the book, thanks to the intervention of a fairy godmother, the four friends realize that despite outward appearances Binah nor her life are perfect (including having lost her mother, just as Madonna had at a young age) and realize that instead of being envious and jealous, they should reach out to Binah and be friends. This is a lesson that we can all learn in life, and one cannot help but apply this to Madonna herself and that perhaps her message to the world is do not look at the rich and famous and be envious and jealous and hateful -- but realize that they are human too, with the same insecurities, desires and weaknesses that we all have. This message is very timely in our current age of celebrity obsession and television voyerism, where many substitute media personalities and celebrities for real life relationships and friends -- mistakenly thinking that their lives are better and more interesting than our own. Some would criticize the English Roses for its picture perfect protagonist, Binah, but without Binah's outward appearance of perfection one would lose part of the moral of the story -- that everything is not what it seems. The illustrations are lush, detailed and merit more than a cursory glance -- they really add to the substance of the book and create a world where you can imagine the English Roses living. Overall this is an excellent effort, particularly for a first time children's author.
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Summary: a wonderful lesson for everyone
Review: Obviously the negative comments left about this book have absolutly nothing to do with the book itself, therefore, in my opinion, these comments bear no merit. As the mother of two daughters, one four and one fourteen I couldn't be more pleased with the rewarding lesson this book teaches the reader. I finished the book feeling truly touched by this enlighted story. I cannot say that I was surprised at how beautifully this book was written. This is truly a literary gift from an evolved and introspective writer. Anyone who fails to see the true beauty in this work must be unable to open their hearts and their eyes. Signed a thirty-six year-old mother who learned a new lesson herself.
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