Madonna

Once upon a time, there was a very excellent singer who became very famous and wealthy. But instead of feeling lucky that she had made it to the acme of celebrity, she began to resent that people thought she was just a musician without class or erudition.

So, making the frequent mistake that anyone could write a good children’s book, she wrote a book called Lotsa de Casha, a slim book with the painfully obvious message that money cannot buy happiness. How painfully obvious? The fabulously show more wealthy and miserable protagonist is actually named Lotsa de Casha! The prose is just as predictable as the ham-handed title. And what’s with giving the greyhound main character an on-again, off-again exaggerated Italian pronunciation of English, à la Chico Marx? Really off-putting and kind of bigoted.

For whom is that book written? Not children, as the prose is too elevated for them. Not discerning adults who will be put off by the clumsy title and the dreadful writing (if they get as far as opening the book). No, it is written for zealous fans who do not give a fig about class, erudition or writing talent.

So there are two lessons here: Money cannot buy happiness, and celebrity cannot buy literary talent. Not even a little. The end.

P.S. — That’s too bad because the illustrations by artist Rui Paes prove as delicate as Meissen china and as breath-taking as a Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting. I would give him five stars; as it is, both of the stars in this review are for him alone. show less

The queen of reinvention once again takes us along into her new world of sex. Papa may preach, yet Madonna has led us to a place overt of amazing erotic, sensual, overtly sexual, passionate, painful, dirty, taboo, sinful, and funny. Yet, on its own, it is highly artistic in her mind. This cultural work defines late 20th-century social mores and how they played out in the publishing and entertainment industries.

I was skeptical when I saw the author listed as "Madonna!" Then, I opened the book to find lush, lovely images that enticed me to purchase it.

I need not have worried; the story is lovely and Gennady Spirin is one of my favorite illustrators/artist.

A cobbler by the name of Yakov has one child, a son who is gravely ill. Despite all attempts to cure him, Yakov and his wife, Olga, grow increasingly frightened when their son is slipping away. Hearing of a man of healing who lives in the last show more house of their village, Yakov goes to seek his guidance.

Attempting to give all his money to the learned elder man, his coins were refused, stating that if he is successful in helping, perhaps the cobbler would make a pair of shoes for his grandson.

The next day, he visited the wise sage only to be told that when he prayed, the gates of heaven would not open. Thus, Yakov was told that his son's death is inevitable. In distress, Yakov begged the wise man to try yet one more time.

The elderly man told his grandson to go into the village and find all the thieves, pick pockets and criminals and bring them back to the house. Among the lot was Vladimir the Villain who could bend metal and punch holes through stones, and Boris the Barefoot Midget is successful at grabbing the purses of old ladies and the toys of little ones. Among the lot were Ivan the Arsonist, Petra the Pickpocket Stinky Pasha and a large host of near do wells.

When the old man asked the beggars to pray, they all got on their knees and followed his directions to pray. Amazingly, a miracle occurred. The prayers of the man who previously robbed by opening gates, helped to open the gates to heaven so that the child could be healed.

The next day, Yakov came with a new pair of shoes for the elder's grandson. His son was alive and well. It was the prayers of the gang of crooks that made a difference. show less

I went into this somewhat skeptical, no matter how I would have wished otherwise. After all, Madonna's not exactly known as a paragon of virtue or a good role model for children. However, I thought this book was an entertaining story. It was fairly long, and the themes in it were addressed to a somewhat older crowd than my 3.5 year old--maybe in the 7-8 sort of range. I especially loved the reasoning behind the old man choosing the thieves to pray with him; I had been wondering exactly why show more the thieves were asked there and what their purpose was. The very base theme--that miracles do happen--was a good theme to include; you don't see that too often in children's stories anymore.

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good book. show less