'The English Roses'

Madonna's first children's book 'The English Roses'     Madonna wanted to create something for her children Madonna's first children's book went on sale on Monday, 15 September 2003, a day after she gave an invitation-only reading to children in London.   A host of celebrities and their children were invited to a tea party in London to launch Madonna's first children's book, The English Roses, on Sunday. "I like little kids better than big people. They don't have any bad habits yet, at least not permanent ones," Madonna said at the reading. The book has been translated into 30 languages and is on sale in 100 countries. Print runs will range from 750,000 in the US to only 1,000 in the Faroe Islands. To mark the launch Madonna threw a party in Kensington, west London, inviting friends and celebrities. The guests were invited to walk up a pink, sparkly carpet, surrounded by barriers adorned with butterflies and roses. Madonna patiently told the cameras why she felt the need to write a book Madonna arrived at the event fashionably late, stopping to wave to the hundreds of waiting fans and chatting about her book to the assembled world's media. Her son Rocco, three, had already arrived at the party with husband Guy Ritchie. Other guests at the tea party included TV interior designers Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn, along with their respective offspring, and former EastEnders actresses Patsy Palmer and Michelle Collins. Racy Also attending was the newly-wed Stella McCartney. Madonna was recently a guest at her wedding on the remote Scottish island of Bute. Inside the party, Madonna read extracts of the book to the young audience, but had to silence a few boisterous boys who were interrupting the reading. Madonna has been heavily promoting her book, which is one of five aimed at children over six. But she raised a few eyebrows when at a recent MTV awards ceremony she kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during a racy stage performance. But speaking at the launch, she defended accusations she was not a good role model for young children, saying it had only been "the kind of kiss you would give your sister". Fans and shoppers waited for Madonna to arrive She said one of the reasons for writing the book was that she "had some stories to tell and I wanted to do something for my children". Each book is based on Hebrew texts from the Kabbalah religion and each will feature the work of a different, celebrated illustrator. The story follows four 11-year-old friends who are all "a little bit jealous of another girl in the neighbourhood". Ostracised Madonna said: "It is a story about learning to appreciate what we have ourselves and not to be fixated on what other people have." Portrait of Madonna by the book's illustrator, Jeffrey Fulvimari The four main characters - Nicole, Amy, Charlotte and Grace - are named after young Lourdes' school friends. The character of Binah, who is left out by her friends, is based on young Lourdes. Madonna told the Sunday Times: "In school often children can be quite mean and ostracise her because I'm her mother. "Everyone thinks, 'She's got everything so we won't pay attention to her.' "She can think that people like her, that they only talk to her because she's... so sometimes I feel like she needs to be bigger than she is." "If you want to know what else happens to Binah (the central character) and the English Roses, you're just going to have to read the book," Madonna said at the end of the reading. The company which holds the rights to Enid Blyton's books is sending Madonna a consignment of her work after the singer admitted she had not heard of the author.   "It is not surprising that Madonna did not know about Enid Blyton because, despite the author's worldwide success, her books have never been widely published in the United States," a spokesman for Chorion said. Blyton has sold more than 400 million books worldwide and annual sales are still around seven million, 36 years after her death. 사랑스러운 동화책 <잉글리시 로즈>   얼마 전 책을 선물 받았다. 팝스타 마돈나가 써서 화제가 된 동화책 <잉글리시 로즈>다. 그녀의 유명세에 비해 정작 이야기는 많이 알려지지는 않지만 마돈나의 열렬한 팬이라면 이 책을 갖고 있다는 것만으로도 큰 의미가 될 것이다. 글 / 이희정 PD (jegan@yeozawa.com) 동화책에는 네 명의 아이들 니콜, 에에미, 샬롯, 그레이스가 등장한다. 사람들은 이들을 '잉글리시 로즈'라 부른다. 잉글리시 로즈는 자기보다 예쁘고 상냥하다는 이유로 같은 동네 사는 친구 '바니'를 질투하고 따돌린다. 놀이에 끼워주지도 않고 무시하기 일쑤다. 하지만 요정의 도움으로 비나의 힘든 일상을 볼 수 있게 된 네 아이들은 자신들의 행동을 반성하며 비나와 좋은 친구가 된다. 이 책을 쓴 마돈나는 어린 시절 어머니가 있었던 아이들, 자신보다 예쁜 아이들, 부유한 아이들에 대한 질투 속에서 자랐다고 한다. 어른이 되면서 그런 질투심은 아무런 의미가 없음을 깨달았다고. 한편, 마돈나는 유명인 엄마를 두었다는 이유만으로 친구들에게 따돌림을 당하는 딸 루어디즈를 보며 이 책을 쓰게 되었다고 한다. 이 책에서 눈길을 끄는 것은 그림이다. 동화 속 주인공들이 하나의 살아있는 캐릭터처럼 깜찍하게 그려졌다. 아이들을 위한 책이지만 예쁘고 재미있는 것을 좋아하는 어른들도 <잉글리시 로즈>를 좋아할 것이다. 그림은 세계적인 패션잡지「보그」「마드모아젤」의 디자인을 담당한 제프리 플비마리가 담당했다. 영국 어린이들 사이에서는 <잉글리시 로즈>의 헤어스타일과 옷차림을 따라하는 것이 유행이 됐을 정도라고 한다. 2004. 01. 30.