The English Roses

Rating:
Summary: Poorly written trash
Review: Read this to my daughter once and had to send it back. Poorly written story with rude characters and a totally stupid plot. My five year old could tell a better story!

Rating:
Summary: Requested by my young friend
Review: I have a young friend, age 8 who was requesting this book for Christmas. In the process of getting it for her, I became curious and read it myself. I was very attracted to the illustrations, they are beautiful. And the story was right on. I work with young people ages 6 - 15 and the isssue of envy and jealousy that the book addresses hits the mark.

Rating:
Summary: Who does she think she's fooling?
Review: Here is the queen of trash music and tramp behaviour. Sex, sex, sex for decades and now she wants to play moral with the kids? Don't let your kids take a lesson from the queen of sleeze.



Rating:
Summary: Two Thumbs WAAAAY Up for the Roses!!!
Review: I had stashed this book away for a Xmas gift for my 6 year old daughter but took it out early as she was experiencing some "clique" difficulties at school. We both enjoyed the story and the lessons taught. She was able to comprehend the moral of the story and we've discussed, at length, the meaning of the book which is "all is not as it may seem". The illustrations are timeless and beautiful as is the story. A definite must read for all school-aged girls. It's a wonderful way to have a snuggle and a story with your daughter. Thank you, Madonna, for a great book.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Message
Review: I was shopping for a "special" book for my then four-year-old daughter and I was intrigued because Madonna was the author. After reading this book with my daughter, I thought it was a little preachy, but my daughter kept asking for the book over and over. We both loved the illustrations and as a preschooler, she was fascinated by a "big girl" story. It's appropriate for girls of all ages. The message: Don't judge a book by its cover (even beautiful girls can be miserable) got through. I give Madonna credit for writing about rivalry and petty jealousy which affects us even after we get out of 5th grade!

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat misleading title for an already well-known author
Review: Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed in this book because it was not what I was expecting. I decided to purchase Madonna's latest efforts after quite enjoying her previous publications, especially her most notorious book whose name probably does not belong in the review of a children's story. In any case, her previous book is among my favorite, especially for bedtime reading. When I saw Madonna was coming out with a new book, I ordered it immediately. I had especially high hopes when I saw the title was "The English Roses." After all, Madonna had recently moved to England with her husband, and I could think of several delightful things to which the term "roses" might be referring.

To my shock and horror, "The English Roses" was not about any of the many wonderful things I thought it might have referenced. Rather, it was about some little girls. Since I am not a man who, shall I say, shares hobbies with Michael Jackson, I found this book completely inappropriate for the purpose for which I bought it.

Rating:
Summary: Why do all of you people hate Madonna?
Review: Why is it that when ever Madonna does anything, even when it is good, people always seem to bring up the past and throw it in the poor woman's face? Why is it that everything Madonna does must fall to the unfriendly criticism of the media, conservative America, and devout religious authorities? Do you enjoy bringing Madonna down? Do you enjoy trying to brand everything that this great woman has ever done as "unwholesome" and "less than acceptable" and "digusting" and "slutty"?

You must, because it never stops.

First of all, do you think that MADONNA, a proud, wise, beautiful and incredibly talented ICON as well as a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR industry really CARES what you think? Madonna is a real person, as much as her opponents might not like to think so. A real person who cries, laughs, eats, and raises kids just like the rest of you. But all that aside, Madonna is GREATER than any critic or critique. She goes on with her life and lives it to the best of her ability and does what she wants to despite the remarks made by jealous common people or lesser celebrities. She doesn't care what a magazine says about her, or what the new ET episode has to say about her, or some radio DJ. She doesn't waste her time with your horse manure, as much as you might want her to. She lives, and goes on, without any regret. So leave her alone.

Also, SO WHAT if she published a book on sex with pictures of her having lesbian contact with Naomi Campbell and Isabella Rosseslini? SO WHAT if she danced in a red slip dress in front of burning crosses? SO WHAT if she said "F---" on Letterman? SO WHAT if she had a simulated orgasm on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in wedding dress? SO WHAT if she recorded "Justify My Love"? SO WHAT if she tongued Britney and Christina on that same stage? It only made her all the more famous. Those were her choices, her display of artistic integrity. Perhaps some of it she could have done without, but couldn't you have done without some of the mistakes you made when you were younger? All people grow and mature, and Madonna IS a person. And besides, you are the people doing all the critical bashing, and do you not think that that is the very thing that makes Madonna more popular. Thusly she has "ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS. /And I'm not sorry/it's human nature"

Madonna will do whatever she wants, with or without the acclaim or disgust of the media. She has done it for the past twenty-two years, in every other genre, so why not Children's books?
Are YOU going to stop her?

"No one's telling me how to live my life/
but it's a set up/and I'm just fed up/It's
no good when you're misunderstood/why should
I care what the world thinks of me/won't let
a stranger give me a social disease/"
...
"I don't waste my time/I don't watch TV/
or read a magazine/NOBODY KNOWS ME/"

~Nobody Knows Me

Rating:
Summary: The illustrations carry this book
Review: One can't help but wonder how well this children's book would be received if not for its famous author. Its biggest pitfalls are twofold. (1) it lacks a clear audience; it proves to be cumbersome and tripping as a "read aloud" book for the pre-reader, but is not engaging for a self-reader. (2) the dialogue, in particular, is poor; its overdone attempts at feeling familial and directly addressing the reader are stiff and out-of-place.

The redeeming value of this book is the lovely illustrations. The English Roses are unique and beautifully created. The illustrations fully deserve the extra packaging as a way to market the visual appeal.



Rating:
Summary: Not a bad story, delightful pictures
Review: I don't care for Madonna, as an artist or as a celebrity. HOWEVER. I am glad that I gave this book a chance based on its own merits rather than letting either her fans' or her detractors' opinions decide for me. Turns out, she's a reasonable writer (3 stars) and the illustrator, J. Fulvimari is outstanding (5 stars). Average the two together and you have a four star picture book for girls.

The story: a clique of four popular schoolgirls known as the English Roses are jealous of a little-miss-perfect beauty named Bindah. Sweet Bindah has no friends and is often lonely, but everybody praises her so loudly that the English Roses decide that she doesn't need their friendship. They ignore her and shut her out. One day, a fairy godmother comes to them in a dream and shows them what is really going on in Bindah's life, who must cook and clean for her father at home because her mother has passed away. Now the English Roses are convicted for their behavior and must decide if their jealousy was worth their bad treatment of this girl.

In my opinion, the premise of a saintly, beautiful girl having no friends is a little thin, even laughable (I mean come on, how often does that really happen in our looks-worshipping culture? Much more likely that a homely girl would end up lonely in my school). Still, the moral of the story - do not judge people on their appearances - is a good one. Better still, the colorful pen illustrations by J. Fulvimari transform what would have been a humdrum tale into something very pretty and whimsical. (I wonder how many other first-time children's authors score such a top-notch illustrator?)

I had a hard time deciding what age range this book was aimed at, as it could have been a picture book for the primary school girls or a reader with great illustrations for secondary schoolchildren. I decided that I would recommend it for either.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle.