Rating: 
Summary: Papa don't preach???
Review: Oh Madge...for someone who sang "Papa don't preach" you sure know how to lay it out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A Delightful Story!
Review: As soon as my three daughters (ages, 11, 9, and 6) and I sat down to read this, they were captured from the start. The illustrations are so bright and fun and the age-old story that you can't tell a book from its cover, still holds true. ... my girls loved the story.
Rating: 
Summary: A rose by any other name
Review: A rose by any other name would have never been published. WIthout mentioning the author, this book is a formulaic tale of jealousy and friendship that misses its mark about discrimination. The moral of the story: pretty girls have problems too. A child reading or hearing this book is meant to believe that four little girls disliked a much prettier girl and assumed that the prettier girl had a perfect life. (This type of jealousy usually doesn't strike girls until roughly the fifth or sixth grade, but this book is written for much younger children who may not understand the concept.) In the end, the four girls accept the beautiful one because she has lost her mother and must take care of her father. Does this really teach children tolerance and acceptance? What if the girl had lived in a beautiful house and had chauffers driving her to school? Would it then be acceptable to mistreat her or ignore her? The narrator openly chastises the reader a couple of times, an interesting device, but not an effective one. The writing is very poor and the story dull.
This is simply a self-serving piece of fluff from the master of media manipulation. The beautiful girl, Binah, is obviously based on Madoona in her own childhood. It is clearly Madonna's right to use herself as a character basis, but there are so many more important things that she could be teaching. Madonna took herself from that position to where she is now by sheer determination and hard work. She spent much of her life challenging accepted roles and stereotypes and fought social injustice through music and images. We may not all agree on some of the things that Madonna has done with her power, and clearly none of us would place her previous foray into the publishing business anywhere near our children, but we have to admit that the girl has a knack for taking issues of discrimination into the public arena. Clearly she could have talked about some more poignant form of discrimination than one based on how cute her protagonist is. Give her credit for making sure that the girls were all drawn to look to be of different ethnic backgrounds,anyway. Also, be careful of who you give approval to as a moral or ethical rolemodel for your children. Remember that this is a woman who only a couple of weeks ago shared passionate kisses with two women who were half her age within a matter of about 20 seconds in front of the world. Clearly not material for a five-year-old to try to comprehend. If you want to give money to charity, write a check. If you want to teach your children ethics and morality, lead by example and get a better book. This is not worth your time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Focus on THE ENGLISH ROSES not what you think of MADONNA
Review: The English Roses by MADONNA is such a great story that teaches us about jealousy and envy. Many folks can learn a lot from this book including all the ones with mean things to say about MADONNA. With some of these reviews you would think the writers are still in grade school with all the bad things they have to say. I have noticed an interesting fact, and that is many of the negative reviews here on amazon are about MADONNA and little or nothing about the book. LOL. Go figure I guess when your the most famous women in the world your bound to get that kind of reaction. The positive reviews on this book out number the bad ones by 4 to 1. The English Roses is truly an inspiring story and MADONNA we all love you.
Rating:
Summary: Another Hit for Madonna
Review: A lot has been said about this book even before it was published. A lot has been said about the author. The English Roses is a beautiful story that teaches ALL of us, about ENVY, a common feeling among us, human beings and specially felt by those who just love to destroy Madonna. Seems like everybody is so obsessed with the things she has done that noone pays attention to her body of work and accuse her of lacking talent just because she is a strong woman who ist not a HYPOCRITE like those so called "puritans" who just love to criticize her every single move.
I read it to my boyfriend (who is NOT a Madonna fan) and he fell in love with the story. I think it is time, for all of you narrow minded people out there, to finally wake up and see inside yourself and realize that the reason why you hate Madonna so much is because you envy everything she has achieved with HARD WORK. Maybe The English Roses will teach you a thing or two. Great job Madonna, as always..YOU ARE THE BEST!
Rating:
Summary: What, I can't rate it zero stars?
Review: This book was incredibly superficial. I read that Madonna based the character off of her own daughter. Oh, I feel so sorry for the poor little pop princess' (perfect) underpriviledged daughter. Give me a break! The story was cheesy, predictable, and lacking any depth. ...
Rating:
Summary: The Vision of Dr. Seuss twisted beyond recognition
Review: Nicole and Amy run the cone bra shop in the foot of the Magic Oak Tree by the Wobbly Dum-Dum bush in the shade of the Magic Glade down in Dingly Dell. Here they sell contraceptives. Charlotte and Grace the sea fairies, are rough tough jolly sorts of women. They love the life of the sea and they love to hang out down by the pier where the men dress as ladies. So starts this new and quite frankly shocking children's book.I am not familiar with the author, but have been made to understand that she is a singer of some repute in the Americas. As she only has one name I can only imagine she of the same ilk as that other 'singing' artist known as Cher. I sincerely doubt this Madonna person's abilities put her even remotely in the same singing league as that global phenom and vocal sensation, Charo. Whatever whimsical qualities her music may invoke is lost completely in this frightening collection of what can only be called pixierotica. There's an unusually high number of characters in cut-off lace gloves, bridal gowns, black leather and the aforementioned cone bras. What this has to do with a children's tale, I do not know. It was my intent to read this novel to my son Guillaume who is an ardent fan of children's books. He did not find it very entertaining. I reminded him that the author was merely trying to express herself and he shouldn't fear the depictions of leather-clad goblins and leotard wearing warlocks. If this frightened Guillaume, I believe it will frighten your children as well. Two stars for the breathtaking illustrations of cartoon fairies wearing cone bras. Such detail!
Rating:
Summary: Very cute and very well written!
Review: I wasn't expecting much from this book, but when I read it I was pleasantly surprised! Madonna's way of writing is clear and easy for children to understand. The illustrations are gorgeous! The story revolves around a group of girls who are envious of this other girl named Binah (who is rumored to be modeled after Madonna's daughter Lourdes). It's witty, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to anyone, child or grownup! Now, having browsed through the customer reviews on this website, I notice that many bad reviews are given simply because the author is Madonna. Madonna is not doing these five books to get rich. She's donating all proceeds to different charities. Furthermore, this book has topped the bestseller charts everywhere. In the UK it's a close second to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! So it's clear that she has found yet another area in which she has talent. This book is wonderful! Give it a chance will ya?
Rating:
Summary: White, Prissy and Preachy
Review: I prefer the REAL Madonna; the one she sold to us for so many years donning another disguise. She has become one trendy dogmatic woman. Geez, reading this book leaves me wondering why she is taking the fame away from other children's book writers? People mindlessly go buy her book because of who she is, not due to the substance. The English Roses is very white/prissy and preachy. Give your hard earned cash to marginal, unknown brilliant children's book writers that will never have a chance next to Madonna. Give your kids the gift of learning what true literature really is. Spend your money on books that will teach languages and cultures that have not been explored in the United States. Search the web for plot-driven children's books with substance, such as COOL SALSA, DRUM, CHAVI, DRUM! TORTILLAS AND LULLABYES, etc. Give these magnificent writers a chance against Madonna,the woman who already has all the fame and glory she needs!
Rating:
Summary: Not a sweet smelling rose
Review: I believe Madonna's heart is in the right place, but the writing reeks of first-time writer. The book is didactic, with a mom and fairy godmother to preach the books moral. The book really doesn't make much sense--why would anyone NOT like this girl? She'd be the most popular in school. The Roses accept Binah in the end, but without any real motivation. The writing offers very little description--she tells rather than shows. BUT, that said...my 5 year old loved it. She especially loved the illustrations (as did I). Would be an excellent book for a school counselor or for classroom use when discussing friendship. (as long as one didn't expect great description or story telling.)
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