Los Angeles Family Magazine
Madonna is on the cover of the Us local Magazine Los Angeles Family. The cover story explores Madonna as a writer and explains what people have to know of her Children’s Books.
Many children’s book authors are thrilled if their latest creation sells a few thousand copies and stays in print for a few years. For the first-time children?s author of The English Roses, publisher Callaway Editions set aside the normal conservative approach and released the book in 30 different languages in more than 100 countries.That’s the kind of pull you get when your name happens to be Madonna.
The English Roses is a tale of rivalry and friendship among school girls in modern-day London. Aimed at readers age 6 and up, it’s filled with wonderful illustrations by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.
Madonna, who comes from a family of eight children, says she drew on her own experiences while writing the book.
“As a child, I experienced jealousy and envy toward other girls for any number of reasons,” she says. “I was jealous they had mothers, jealous they were prettier and richer. It isn?t until you grow up that you realize what a waste of time those feelings are.”
The English Roses is the first of a planned five books by Madonna, each to be set in a different time and place and featuring a new cast of characters brought to life by celebrated illustrators from around the world.
“I believe The English Roses and the four books to follow are destined to become contemporary classics,” says Nicholas Callaway of Callaway Editions, the books? publisher. “They are surprisingly traditional, in the best sense. The stories are delightful, the art is exquisite, and the characters are endearing.”
While it will most likely appeal to girls, boys might also be interested in the story of four 11-year-olds – Nicole, Amy, Charlotte and Grace, the “roses” – who are the very best of friends.
“They are practically glued to each other at the hip,” writes Madonna in the book, and they are all “a little bit jealous of another girl in the neighborhood” – a beautiful girl named Binah, whose seemingly perfect life makes them envious. But when a feisty, pumpernickel-loving fairy godmother takes them on a magical journey, they learn to their great surprise that Binah’s life is not nearly so enviable as it had seemed. The English Roses is an inspiring story about the importance of compassion and the rewards of friendship.
The English Roses is now available in bookstores and online in a $19.95 hardcover edition of 48 pages. Limited quantities of collectable, first-edition copies in an eye-popping, polka-dotted slipcase are also available. The second book in the series, Mr. Peabody?s Apples, will be released worldwide Nov. 10.
Most people think that I’ve made a career out of doing the unexpected, and to a certain extent, they’re right. While I’ve envisioned myself doing many things in this life, writing children’s books was never one of them.
So how did it happen?
The idea first came about through my Kabbalah teacher, who suggested that I share the spiritual wisdom I’ve learned studying the Kabbalah by writing children’s stories.
And then there are my own children. Raising kids makes most people, including myself, grow up at least a little. It also makes us more responsible and more thoughtful about our own actions and their consequences for those around us.
Reading to my kids at night seemed like the ideal time to teach them a thing or two about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
The world’s seal of approval could never mean as much to me as my daughter’s. If she fidgeted, fell asleep or reached for another book while I read my “works in progress” to her, I knew I was not finished with my work.
The English Roses is the first of five stories I have written. It deals with envy and jealousy?and how these emotions cause so much unnecessary suffering in our lives. I only wish I had read about some of these subjects when I was a little kid.
I hope these children’s books inspire kids of all ages?even grown-up ones.
You’ve said that although you’d envisioned yourself doing many things in your life, writing children’s books was never one of them. Why did you decide to write a series of books for kids? And why now?
For two reasons: I have two children now, and they are a source of great inspiration for me. I am on my own spiritual path and have learned a great many things. Among them is the importance of sharing and the desire to enlighten others. Children are naturally open and expansive, so I thought I would start sharing what I have learned with them first.
You’ve described this as a book about jealousy and envy and how these emotions cause so much unnecessary suffering in our lives. Was there anything in particular from your own experiences, as a child or an adult, which made this an especially relevant subject for you to explore?
As a child I experienced jealousy and envy towards other girls for any number of reasons: I was jealous they had mothers, jealous they were prettier or richer. It isn’t until you grow up that you realize what a waste of time those feelings are. I now, of course, experience the reverse, with people either jealous of me and being unkind as a result, or little girls being jealous of my daughter and alienating her.
You say your daughter was very helpful in the process of creating this book and in letting you know when it was finished. How so?
She was very involved in the creative process. She told me when the story was boring. She asked for the girls to do particular activities (her favorite things to do) and she helped me choose illustrators.
What were your favorite books when you were a child?
The Giving Tree, Charlotte’s Web, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden.
Is there a common theme that ties the five books together?
Each book deals with issues that all children confront: uncertainty, jealousy/envy, overcoming obstacles, learning not to judge people, the power of our words. Hopefully there is a lesson in each book that will help kids turn painful or scary situations into learning experiences.
In 1992, you shocked the literary world with your photo essay, Sex. This is clearly a publishing foray at the other end of the spectrum. What runs through your mind when you think of the journey you’ve traveled from then to now and the arc of your life that falls between these two very different literary projects? How have you changed?
The journey I have traveled between my Sex book and now is too vast and complex to define in a few sentences. Suffice it to say that I see the world and my responsibility to it in a very different way.
You’ve said most people think you’ve made a career our of doing the unexpected without, as you’ve said in earlier interview, “thinking too deeply about the consequences.” What changed for you that made you begin to think about the consequences of your actions?
Having children set off a chain reaction of asking questions and looking for answers. I found answers when I began to study Kabbalah seven and a half years ago. I realized that there was, and continues to be, a reaction in the world to all of my words and my actions, good and bad. I felt the implications of personal and global Karma.
You’ve achieved great success in so many different areas: as a savvy businesswoman and as an artist in music, videos, films, television, live performances, and so on. How was the experience of writing these children’s books different from your experience preparing for a new album or video? And how does the satisfaction you feel from writing children’s books differ from the satisfaction you’ve felt in other arenas?
Because I am donating all of my proceeds to charity, I knew when I began writing that every penny I earned would be used to help children. I was liberated, and my creativity was not motivated by ego or greed for the first time in my life.
What’s the most important lesson kids need to learn today about life, love and the pursuit of happiness?
The most important lesson kids can learn is that we are all connected to each other on a soul level, and we need to learn to love and care for our fellow man, no matter what! That our thoughts, words, and actions really do affect other people around us. That changing the world starts with a thought. That love really does conquer all.
Source: Los Angeles Family Magazine/English Roses press kit