Is there anything the 'Material Girl' has not tried to put her badge to? This is the first of a famous five-book deal that the multifaceted Madge has bagged to publish. (The fact that she has never heard of Enid Blyton is something else altogether!) 'The English Roses' is a featherweight fable penned by an American trying to appear English. It reeks of paltry pretension, lacks originality and humour and is an awkward stab at a contrived Cinderella concept. It has already been reviewed as a magical traditional story with the modern lightness of touch that teaches about the healing powers of forgiveness and friendship. In other words four spoilt brats who envy a more beautiful and intelligent girl who they ignore and exclude from their circle. They are then visited by a 'fairy godmother' in their dreams who shows them that this poor girl is not only motherless and does all the housework, but has minimal possessions too. This shocks the brat pack and suddenly they befriend her and then all grow up to be "incredible women". I failed to find any magic or healing powers and cannot forgive those who applaud or appraise its so-called appeal. <br>The most interesting aspect of this book is the jacket cover and the pretty illustrations that are stylistic sketches of what could be the modernised version of the 'Four Mary's' (anyone old enough should remember the Bunty/Mandy characters), or a bittersweet version of pre-teen Spice Girls or the possible precocious baby offspring of toothpick super models. God help us. The only other positive point, (was there one to start with), is that all proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to a children's charity.

This is the first book I have read by Madonna although I am a fan of her music.I like the book because when you read the first word you are hooked.You can't wait to find out what happens.My mum said she has never known me to keep quiet for so long.<p> Celia Hulse age 9

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.<p>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.<p>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. <p>Andrew Parodi