Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful children's book for the grown Madonna fan!
Review: I myself have no children. So why did I read THE ENGLISH ROSES? Well, because I'm a Madonna fan. I'm fascinated by the woman and her products.Having humbly admitted that I don't know much about the genre, I will proceed with my opinion of this book. The first thing I noticed is that, yes, the girls are all thin as sticks and the picked-upon outcast is blonde and blue-eyed. It seems a bit odd that the girl who would likely be the most popular, the girl that society would hail as the ideal of beauty, is the outcast. Why should I have sympathy for the blonde beauty when it is usually her opposite - the homely, chubby, poor children (who are not even depicted in this book!) - who are scorned? How about writing a book in support of them? Then I got it: beauty isn't everything. Beauty does not mean happiness. The beautiful girl had everything that society says you should ... and yet she was not happy. And when she is finally accepted into the group known as "the English Roses," it is not a change in her appearance nor in theirs that has allowed her in, but a change in *attitude*, in perspective. Perhaps Madonna is trying to say that what matters more is what is on the inside and how we perceive the world and others. I admire Madonna for venturing into this territory. I imagine that writing a children's book must be a daunting task. People are highly protective, and can become vicious, about the ideas they suspect you are trying to implant in their children's minds. There simply is no way to please everyone. No matter how democratic you try to be, no matter how politically correct your attempts, you will offend someone. If, for example, the outcast were a chubby girl then I'm sure someone would get mad and say Madonna is suggesting that chubby girls are always ostracized. If she made the outcast an African American girl then I'm sure she would have offended others. My inclination is to believe that Madonna, in fact, wrote THE ENGLISH ROSES for her children (which isn't a risky guess on my part since the book is dedicated to them). Binah - that's the beautiful but ridiculed one - is most likely a metaphor for Madonna and her children. Madonna has many fans, such as myself. But she has almost as many detractors. The fact that her children have everything materially most likely cannot make up for the odd fact that most of the known world has a formed opinion of their mother, and may judge them accordingly, despite the fact that they do not in reality know her. Andrew Parodi
Rating: 
Summary: Very Impressed - perfect for 7 yr and up
Review: We stumbled upon this book while looking for a birthday gift for my daughter's 8 year old friend. My daughter and I read several pages and thought it was great! She loves how the girls are drawn, and the no-nonsense fairy Godmother. But most of all, she understood the point of not judging a person by their looks. I have noticed at 7 and 8 year old, some girls begins to show some catiness and begin to judge their peers by the way they look and dress. This story shows how insignificant being jealous of looks & compliments are, when compared to the thought of losing your mother. We look forward to her next books (for girls)!
Rating:
Summary: Forget It's Written By Madonna.....
Review: ....and you will find it is an enjoyable story! I'm a little surprised at the overly negative reviews, but then again, there are always those who judge based on whether they like the person instead of in a mature non-objective way. I will be the first to admit I was repulsed with her Britney Spears stunt, but all antics aside, I decided to give this book a chance. It's a nice story with the following very simple lesson: You can't judge a book by it's cover. This book conveys that lesson appropriately for elementary school age children with whimsical illustrations and a storyline that is easy to follow. Pick this book up at your local bookstore, spend the five minutes it takes to read it, and judge for yourself. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
Rating: 
Summary: Another celebrity preaches a sermon
Review: Although the book is written in a fun and chatty style, and the "moral of the story" is one we hope all children will make a part of their lives, The English Roses is essentially a thinly veiled morality tale. While it's true that many of the great fairy tales have morals, stories like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Anansi the Spider have been re-told through the centuries because they are also whopping good yarns. There is no story here, no plot, no characterization (other than four girls who are apparently so alike that they can't--and don't wish to be--differentiated--and the fifth who soon becomes an indistinguishable part of the girl-group). If the author can apply her voice--which shines through the weak story--to a whopping good tale of her own, then she'll have a hit on her hands. Otherwise, this is destined to be one more celebrity book that will surely be discussed in future children's literature classes with a shake of the head and a "that was such a strange time in the history of children's books, wasn't it"?
Rating:
Summary: A Little Girl's Delight !
Review: This book is just what every little girl should have !
The story is written in a modern and cool way, and is just wonderful. The illustrations are also amazing, and it touches on so many feelings we have all had....The details just make the book, and the story is ageless. I plan on buying several copies of this lovely book for my daughter and her friends who are college age....and for everyone I know with a young daughter. I look forward to seeing the next scheduled book. Thank You Madonna !
Rating: 
Summary: Yikes
Review: Madonna has changed image so many times, I've stopped counting. From Material Girl to "Evita" to "Ray of Light", she tries to keep people on their toes. But children's author? I guess she ran out of personalities to reinvent herself into, because an author she 'aint. This book, while admirable in the "moral of the story" department, is long winded and just not well written. The English Roses all resent the new girl Bina because she is so beautiful. They pointedly exclude her at school and constantly whine about her to each other (healthy, no?). Though the girls mom's keep encouraging them to make friends with Binah, they refuse. These little exchanges go on F-O-R-E-V-E-R, and realistically could have been told in 4-5 pages instead of 15. Eventually, the girls have a sleepover and each have the exact same dream. In it, a fairy godmother (who is almost described before the author says "what am I telling you this for? you know what a fairy godmother looks like, okay?")sprinkles "dust" (basically a Tinkerbell rip-off)on the girls to transport them to Binah's house to see how she actually lives, and their hearts are softened (not unlike Scrooge and the ghosts of Xmas past/present/future).
It has been advertised as a children's picture book, when in reality, it should have been catagorized in the intermidiate readers area (ages 8-11), because there is no way a young child will sit through this overstated book (it's about 48 pages long). And while the story is mildly entertaining, it seems MA pilfered a few obvious ideas from existing literature and gave them her own spin. When "Mr. Peabody's Apples" comes out in Novemember, I won't be rushing to the store to get it. Madonna should just stick to music, because like acting, this doesn't seem to be her forte.
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Summary: ...
Review: If author was some unknown woman from the bible-belted midwestern with absolutely no history of book writing and if the woman is known to be Christian, there wouldn't exist so many people saying Madonna has absolutely no right to write this book to 'their' children. If this book is supposedly to be called, formulaic tale of jealousy and friendship, and so are hundreds of other children's stories. Hmm..let me think...Cinderella? I've read the same type of formulaic folk stories of Cinderella from Japan, England, Korea, China and on and on...to me, Cinderella was complete rip off of one of the stories I've read. And yet nobody's complaining. First of all, to me, the moral of the story is not 'pretty girls have problems too' but more of: 'don't judge others by their look' At times like now days when the maturity of children gets faster and faster the pop culture ridden society, the concept that four little girls disliked a much prettier girl and assumed that the prettier girl had a perfect life can strike definitely the age group the book is suggested for. What the reader should keep in mind is not to disregard the book based on assumption and stereotypes of what Madonna is known for. We live in a society where people put all their attention and endeavor to judge others by what they have and how they look. Not who they are. I don't believe the book is teaching children to accept the beautiful one because she has lost her mother or must take care of father. But it's rather the goodness and kindness that the main character Binah possess that should be appreciated. In addition, i thoroughly enjoyed the narrator's speaking style. Although the book is for children, it could have been very corny if Madonna didn't openly chastises the reader during the book. I almost felt like Madonna was reading the book which was very interesting. It's truly sad that so many people say it's self-serving piece of fluff from the master of media manipulation, Madonna. Sheryl Crow once sang in her song, 'price tag for being Madonna is too expensive', and I've never realized that meaning up until this time with this book. suddenly, simply because of what she has done in the past, she can't write a book and everything is 'manipulation'. And why should it be SO wrong for someone to use her experience and ideas to base the characters on? I'd suggest to anyone, 'just give it a break and relax'. Once again, this book is very nice and sweet children story that every kid will surely appreciate. There is no hidden meaning of teaching cult or Madonna being manipulative to rip money off of customer's pocket. It's very beautiful book with fabulous illustration and simple moral story that says 'don't judge others by what they have or how they look'. However, If your heart is still making you feel queasy and reluctant, you shouldn't. you can simply write a check for the charity and never make it a bother. But to me, this book was refreshing experience.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible story!
Review: This story is one cliche after another. Poorly written. I really wanted to like this book, and I really just don't. It belittles the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Wilted Roses
Review: If you are even considering buying this bit of tripe from Madonna, my best advice to you is don't. There is absolutely nothing about it to recommend. The text is way too long, poorly written, and not at all interesting. Even the pictures are not enough to keep a young child interested long enough to sit through it. The "moral" isn't even thinly veiled, but is like sitting through a bad sermon. The only reason I can think of that this book was ever published is because of its author. I would give it no stars if the form would let me, and two thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: I love it!
Review: I love this book! The art is bright and colorful! The storyline is good too, for a children's book. I bought the book even though I'm 18, but it makes me wish that I was 8! I suppose I will end up giving it to a little cousin or my boyfriend's little sisters, but I'm glad I have it... I can't wait to buy the next one (supposedly she's writing 5 of these with a different illustrator each). Not to mention all of the proceeds go to children's charities. It is a given that not everything Madonna does is cool, but this book is a definite, adorable winner!!!
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