Madonna’s ‘English’ lit
She goes between the covers again, only this time it’s strictly kid stuff
From the New York Daily News
Madonna can now read her own book to her children Lourdes and Rocco.
Forget the Material Girl. Madonna is a children’s book author now. Never mind that her last book was an outrageous and provocative collection of thoughts and semi-porn shots called “Sex.”
Try to get past all the controversy over kissing the statue of a saint in “Like a Prayer,” or the uproar that forced her to pull her “American Life” video that features a grenade being lobbed into President Bush’s lap.
Ignore that 1994 appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman,” when she said the “F” word 13 times, and get beyond her many tips on how to and express yourself and accessorize a pointy bra and fishnets.
And put aside her last movie, “Swept Away,” directed by husband Guy Ritchie, widely considered an ego-filled disaster of epic proportions.
The 44-year-old mother of two is joining the long list of celebrities with kids books.
But Madonna never does things in a small way. This rollout rivals “Harry Potter.”
“The English Roses“, the first of six books from the Material Mom, will be published simultaneously in 100 countries and 42 languages. The plot is a tightly guarded secret, though it is known to be based on her spiritual lodestar, the mystical Jewish guide to the universe the kabbala.
The identity of the illustrator is likewise secret until the book’s Sept. 15 release – to make sure it’s the event of the year in a field full of celebrity authors.
Funny, she doesn’t look bookish. But motherhood changes everything.
“I’m starting to read to my son,” she told an English newspaper. Rocco Ritchie, turns 3 today. “But I couldn’t believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were. There’s, like, no lessons. … There’s, like, no books about anything.”
Maybe her book will read more fluidly than that.
“The biggest question over the [children’s book] industry right now is whether the Madonna book will be good,” says Diane Roback, children’s book editor of Publishers Weekly.
“Her publisher will really have to hit out of the park to justify the hype. How much the world cares remains to be seen.”
Having recently released a new CD to deafening indifference Madonna has arranged to have her book’s publication coincide with her ad campaign for the Gap. “The English Roses” may go on sale in Gap stores, right next to stacks of glitter-studded corduroys.