Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: This is without a doubt the worst children's book I have ever read. Being a long-time Madonna fan doesn't blind me to the fact that she is a bad writer. She commits the most elementary writing mistake: she tells people what she's going to tell them, rather than just telling them the story. She is preachy and caustic, and not respectful towards her audience. Save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read for my 7 year old daughter
Review: My friend handed me this book and said I had to read it (she too has a 7 year old daughter). I read it with my daughter and had tears in my eyes when it was over. She has re-read it several times since and we have lent it currently to a friend with a 7 year old girl as well. It is such an excellent lesson for girls and their opinions on people without bothering to find out who they really are. That a person isn't who you think based on face value. That just because someone is beautiful on the outside they might still be suffering on the inside and in need of a friend. Good lesson.
Rating:
Summary: A lesson we all need to learn
Review: When this book first came out I was skeptical, especially since I don't think Madonna has done anything well yet other than create controversy. I work in a childrens bookstore and this is one of the first books I recommend to people. I liked the way she interjected some sarcasm and humor into the story as well. I have 3 daughters ages, 9-11 and they loved it. Children, especially girls can be very clicky, and they can and do judge other children w/o really knowing them. Jealousy is a real thing in young kids and I think we need to teach our children to make decisions based on fact and experience, not just by sight. I liken it to your child deciding they don't like beans just cause they're in the vegetable group w/o having ever tried one. You don't know if you're going to like a person if you've never given yourself the chance to know them. I think we as adults are guilty of the same things but probably to a higher extent. Finally Madonna has done something she can really be proud of and she didn't have to kiss anyone to do it.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Children's Book of All Time
Review: I've never been much of a Madonna fan, but I loved this book. It's different from the usual prince and princess books and teaches a moral lesson. Madonna is a great role model to children all across the world, as well as adults. I'm gonna buy the whole series of her books soon.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of money, time, and ink
Review: Zero stars would be more accurate. As a teacher, I recognize that this poorly written, rambling book has little to offer as a teaching tool. There are other books already on the market that are better written, that tell the same tale of morality. While there is some wit interjected throughout the book, it is ridiculous, unnecessary and distracting where Madonna, the narrator, "speaks" to the reader as if the reader has asked her an annoying question. I found this device to be bothersome and trite. This is not a good book for teaching lessons of morality, nor is it a good book for teaching reading skills. It is slightly enjoyable for pure reading pleasure, but certainly covers nothing that hasn't already been covered before.
Rating:
Summary: "Bloody Brilliant!"
Review: Being an educational assistant,I actually heard about this book a couple of days after it was released,and figured it'd be a good read for the kids I work with. And seeing as how I'm a fan of Madonna,I had to own this. I'm not into the children's genres that much,but this book actually changed my mind.It's about four pretty little English fashionplates,Nicole,Amy,Charlotte and Grace,who are jealous of the beautiful Binah who lives in the same neighborhood as them. The English Roses think her life is perfect,but after a dream,find out it isn't. The book teaches some good lessons about diversity and friendship. The kids I help teach loved this,and I'm sure all kids with imagination will.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: My 4 year old daughter received this book for her birthday and she loves it. She loves the pictures but even better she loves the story. I don't believe she understands the storyline, but my older daughter who is 10 understood the storyline and we were able to have an indepth conversation about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very pleased
Review: Being a teacher, I felt that this book is a great addition to every classroom library. The pictures are beautiful and the message is one in which every child can relate to. I couldn't believe that such a great book was written by the "material girl". Way to go Madonna, and I can not wait to read the next books in her series.
Rating: 
Summary: A cynical edge
Review: I found this book a little creepy, despite its pretty pictures and happy ending. It's about a girl who is rejected by others because she looks too perfect, until it is revealed that she is actually poor, that her mother is dead, that her life is unexpectedly horrible. Once they see this, the other girls abandon their jealousy and accept her as "one of them". The story touches on important issues, like acceptance, jealousy, sympathy. But it does so with a cynical edge. What if the new girl had been happy and content after all? Would she have remained an outcast? Madonna's story implies so. The ending seems to be a happy one, but also leaves me with a bizarre feeling of "hoping" that every silver lining has a deep dark cloud underneath ... hoping that people have some secret flaw that will make us like them better. Is that what we want to teach our kids?
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre--Why Didn't She Shoot for the Stars?
Review: Now, first of all, I own several Madonna albums and am a fan of her music--I have been for 20 years.But being a singing star does not instantly make someone a great children's author, and Madonna is not there yet--though the potential may be. People tend to think that writing children's books is a snap, thus the proliferation of celebrity children's books these days. But there is nothing harder than writing for children, and it shows in this book. The plot is, to say the least, pedestrian. This is a morality fable , where the message hits you over the head with a sledge hammer, and there is no great storyline surrounding the purpose. The Berenstain Bears have been doing the same for years, with a lot more style! Madonna has a nice storytelling voice--I think she's got potential. I found myself chuckling at the way the story was told even as I was wincing at the plot.But I think if she was a ordinary author rather than a celebrity any editor would have looked at her and said "Mrs Ritchie, it's got potential, but it's not good enough to publish." Instead, they went for selling a celebrity book, and I expect the next 4 will be more of the same. Too bad,especially for Madonna. She wouldn't have settled for being considered a second rate star as a singer, but as a writer she's been allowed to publish a book that will be bought for her name as a star, not for its quality as a story.
|
