Too Good to Be True

The English Roses

by Madonna

Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, Grace, and Binah are best friends. They do everything together -- dancing, homework, ice-skating, picnics, sleepover parties.... But the arrival of a new student, Dominic de la Guardia, changes everything. His dashing looks and charming manners have them vying for his attention. As the annual fall dance approaches, it is up to a quirky teacher, Miss Fluffernutter, and a pumpernickel-loving fairy godmother to save the English Roses's friendship.

About the Author: Madonna Ritchie was born in Bay City, Michigan. She has recorded 17 albums and appeared in 18 movies, including Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe award. She lives with her husband, movie director Guy Ritchie, and her two children, Lola and Rocco, in London and Los Angeles. Her first five books for children--The English Roses, Mr. Peabody's Apples, Lotsa de Casha, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, and The Adventures of Abdi--were released in more than 100 countries around the world in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2006

About the author

Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American pop singer-songwriter. Through her music career, she has also gained some notability as a dancer, record producer, film producer, actress, author and a fashion icon. She is a multiple Grammy- and Golden Globe-award winner, known for her ambitious music videos, stage performances and use of sexual and religious themes in her work.

Reviews

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

هي قصة أطفال بس عادي يعني اقرأها وأنا مش طفلة ولا حاجه 🤣✌️
استعرتها من المكتبة العامة الصراحة علشان مادونا هي المؤلفة وهي المغنية المفضلة ليا

القصة كويسة ف المجمل ل٥ صديقات .. ولد جه جديد عليهم ف المدرسة فهيحب واحده منهم وباقي البنات هتغير منها ف ايه اللي هيحصل علشان يرجعوا أصدقاء تاني 👀

دور المُدرسة حلو والرسومات جميل .. هصور الكتاب واحطه ع انستجرام 👇
@mai.designer92

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! Dit was gewoonweg té leuk en té schattig.

Ik ben ook heel blij dat ik hem toch heb meegenomen uit de bibliotheek, ook al moet ik zeggen dat toen ik thuis uitvond dat het door Madonna was ik toch eventjes twijfelde of ik hem wel zou lezen. Niks tegen Madonna hoor, maar ik heb al vaker celebrity proberen een boekje te schrijven boeken gelezen en het is nou niet altijd een succes.

Maar deze was echt leuk. Het verhaal over 5 vriendinnen en wat er gebeurd met de vriendschap als er een nieuwe, en voor hun hele leuke, jongen in de klas komt. En dan vooral wat er gebeurd als die leuke jongen zich richt op een van hen. Tja, je kunt zelf al bedenken hoe dit afloopt en hoe de meiden hierop reageren. Ik vond het wel heel erg jammer voor Binah, heeft ze eindelijk een stel leuke vriendinnen (want blijkbaar in het vorige boek was dat niet zo), en dan zijn ze jaloers en negeren ze haar. Maar gelukkig blijft Binah sterk, en gaat ze praten met haar vader en ook met haar juf.

En die juf had echt een heerlijk plan om te zorgen dat de meiden misschien wat normaler gingen doen tegen Binah, plus dat Binah ook eens haar gevoelens aan Dominic kon laten weten. Want zij vindt hem ook erg leuk.
Later praat de juf ook nog even met de meiden, want tja, je vriendschap opgeven omdat er een een leuke jongen is die op een van de vriendinnen valt is wel een beetje sneu. Je moet juist blij zijn voor diegene, en er zijn genoeg visjes in de oceaan hoor. Hopelijk komt de les door in de hoofden van de meiden.

Ik vond het ook erg lief dat Binah's pa op haar zat te wachten, want hij wist dat ze wel een praatje of knuffel kon gebruiken.

Ik vond het wel apart dat, in tegenstelling tot normaal, de tekst onder de illustraties gewoon nog Engels was. Normaal worden ook die vertaald.

Oh, en het boek heeft ook prachtige illustraties. Soms zag het er een beetje vreemd uit (vooral de ogen), maar voor de rest was ik erg aan het genieten van de kleuren en de stijl.

En ik gok dat ik maar de serie eens verder moet lezen in het Engels, ik heb net gekeken op bol en ook bij mijn bibliotheken maar de serie is onmogelijk te vinden. Nog een geluk dat ik dit deel dan heb gevonden.

Ik zou dit boek zeker aanraden. Een leuk boek met een thema dat bij veel meiden gehoor zal vinden. Plus die illustraties!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Kecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two best things about this book are 1.) the charming illustrations, and 2.) the moral of the story.

Madonna's music may be better than her writing but it's still a good story. I think this book would be best read out loud. It's a great for any pre-teen girl. I think it has a lot of great ideas and issues for slumber party discussion. I'll certainly be sending copies to all my the young girls on my x-mas list this year.

[e.c.h.a · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kisah persahabat 5 gadis remaja; Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, Grace, Binah. Persahabatan bisa sangat berwarna!

If you start to feel jealous of someone, try to feel happy for them instead. Good things will come your way, too p 52.

You can't just love your friends when they are nice to you. That's when it's easy. You have to love them when they are being complete dorks, too. p 60.

Simple story but meaningful.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by Madonna. Who knew she could write! I wish I had daughters to share this book with. (My 3 boys would probably think it's a tad girl, like the first one). I borrowed this from the local library. There is a great lesson about a boy who moves to town that all the girls like, and how they resolve the issue when all the girls like him. Again, like the first book, there are very adorable illustrations to go along with the story.

[Limau Nipis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaah, that Madonna. And she writes interesting children book.

The second in the series of The English Roses, this sequel tested their friendship when a foreign exchange student arrivef at their school.

I find that it was light hearted and the illustrations was awesome.

And in the end, you have to love your friends for their good and bad sides as well...

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and shows that a boy shouldn't get in between friendship.

[Grace Snider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay book i mean i feel a little childish reading it but very good anyways haha my names Grace as well

[Lightwhisper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um livro com ilustrações ao longo da história, um traço bem definido, tal como aparece na capa. Uma história sobre a inveja, em que todas as raparigas gostam do mesmo rapaz, mas com uma boa moral e happy ending.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book actually, but it was a little bit on the conceited side in some ways. She wrote it for her daughter knowing her daughter would face ridicule by other children because she was Madonna's daughter. She basically just sort of explains that the other kids only make fun of the other little girl (aka Lourdes if you read between the lines) because she is better than they are, and as is ALWAYS the case, they are just jealous. blah blah blah

I really did like the illustrations, though.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super funny, lovely girls. Loved the illustrations and the colours.

[Tara Strosnider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, Grace, and Binah are best friends they do everything together. But the arrival of a new student Dominic de la Guardia, changes everything. His dashing looks and charming manners have the girls vying for his attention. As the annual fall dance approaches it is up to a quirky teacher, Miss Fluffernutter and a pupmernickel- loving fairy godmother to save the girls friendship. Can the English Roses friendship be saved?

The message of friendship was sweet and offeres a good message to girls that are their age. I also liked that the teacher in the book was portrayed as someone they could go to if they had a problem.

[Anna Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good for reading a children book like this since it's easy to be understood and it has a good illustrations. I bought this book because I had to review something for my assignment but I hadn't read the whole book until yesterday. It was a good decision since I had nothing to do and reading a book with heartwarming stories was not a bad idea at all.

This book was dedicated for all children all around the world who were lonely and being misunderstood by their parents or family. The stories that this book had also taught children to be honest, to never give, to be kind. Those kind of moral stories from children book.

I had no expectation but I kinda like it.

[Alice ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that, when I was 8 years old, got me into reading! The illustrations are super cute and bright and the plotline is sweet and lovable. Even now, when I want to go back in time, I read again this magic story.

[zoe💌 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t even remember when I received this book but it’s my guilty pleasure book and I love it.

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story and art of the first book, but this, while still have gorgeous art, feels like a boring re-tread of the first book.

[Oana-Maria Uliu · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather unremarkable book. I mean there's nothing special about it. The illustrations are nice, but why don't any of the characters have noses?!

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

As cute as the first one, & still love the illustrations :)

[aly ☆.。.:* · Rating 5 out of 5]

It checks out that as soon as I learned how to read, this was what I was reading

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yup, another English Roses' adventure in teenager world. Kali ini, English Roses yang selalu bersama kemana-mana itu mendapat tantangan ketika seorang anak baru bernama Dominic de la Guardia datang. Naturally, secara ada cowok keceh, otomatis dong cewek-cewek pada berebut perhatiannya? Gak terkecuali The English Roses. Apa semua suka Domonic? Ya iyalah! Tapi Binah terlalu sibuk mikirin kehidupannya sehingga tak ada waktu untuk mikirin cowok.

Daaannnn, seperti yg udah-udah, cewek yg nggak ca-per ke cowok malah justru yang mendapat perhatian khusus dari si cowok, bukan begitu, bukan? Dan itulah yang terjadi. Dominic malah memperhatikan Binah dan membuat English Roses yang lain cemburu. Mereka jadi nyuekin Binah deh!

Nah, tuh kan? Did I tell you that men can be a source of disaster between friends? Hehehehe... so is girls sih :p jadi jangan emosi dulu dong :) Trus gimana tuh The English Roses menyelesaikan masalah mereka? Penasaran gak? :D

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is definitely for girls. It has a feel good vibe to it. In this book the other girls get jealous of the main character, Binah, when the guy they all like has a crush on her. It's simplistic but, for little kids, it's a nice read.

I also think the pictures are really pretty. However, on one of the pages where the boy raises his hand to volunteer with the girls he looks completely different than he does in the rest of the book which threw me off a bit...either I'm looking at the wrong kid or this was an earlier illustration that wasn't edited out.

[LLeG84 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to the fourth grade girls in my reading class. They loved it, and I thought the message of friendship was sweet and offered a good message to girls their age. I also liked that the teacher in the book was portrayed as someone they could go to if they had a problem. The illustrations are very colorful and cute.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new boy comes into the roses class and Amy,Grace,Charlotte and Nicole all has a crush on him. what they didn't know was that he has a crush on Binah. So they sign up for being a helper after school and the new guy signs up too and makes the girls even more jealous by asking if Binah needs help. Then, some kind of mushy thing happened at the end.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good conversation starter for raising a 10-year old girl! Surprised by Madonna.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

look at the reality before do something

[kinu triatmojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grafisnya oke, ceritanya simple tapi oke untuk anak-anak usia pra-remaja jaman sekarang. Sedikit surprise bahwa penulisnya adalah Madonna yang itu.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read better children's books but I LOVE the illustrations.

[Allanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent book about jealousy and boys.

[Lavendersbluegreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I found this in a bargain bin and bought it to check it out. It was surprisingly good. I would not hesitate to recommend this for kids.