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Callaway Arts & Entertainment is pleased to announce the release today of Madonna’s third book for children, Yakov and the Seven Thieves.

Madonna spins another lesson-teaching yarn in her third picture book for children ‘(even grown-up ones),’ this time drawing inspiration from an 18th-century Ukrainian teacher for a tale about overcoming selfishness to help others.
Paired with ornate, awe-inspiring illustrations by award winner Gennady Spirin, the author’s tale – ‘dedicated to naughty children everywhere’ – centers on a cobbler, Yakov, who looks toward a wise man to help cure his deathly ill son.
Although the wise man’s prayers alone cannot help Yakov, the cobbler’s sincerity drives the old man to round up seven of the town’s thieves and scoundrels, including the malodorous Stinky Pasha and a one-legged rascal named Ivan the Arsonist.
When a surprising group effort leads to the son’s recovery, an explanation from the wise man reveals the miraculous reason, giving a jubilant Yakov and us readers plenty to ponder.
In her first children’s book with a pre-20th-century setting, Madonna combines storytelling resourcefulness with a non-Western theme for a read that will sit comfortably alongside her previous two books.
Without a doubt, Spirin’s artwork is the tour de force here, bringing to life Ukrainian landscapes and culture in a way that reflects the artist’s remarkable attention to detail.
For those who enjoyed The English Roses and Mr. Peabody’s Apples, this story, which follows a familiar format of old-fashioned fables, makes a fine addition to your Madonna ‘literary’ collection.
source : barnes & noble

Word on the street is, Madonna’s grown up.
Her latest children’s book, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, due out tomorrow, isn’t quite what you’d expect from a star known for racy club queen antics and concerts with as much shock value as singing. But if you know anything about the 45-year-old pop chameleon, you know you can’t put a label on her .
(In fact, as she revealed Friday, you can’t even just call her Madonna any more. A follower of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, she’s adopted the name Esther as her religious name.)
The book’s release coincides with Madonna’s aptly named Reinvention tour, one buzzed about for its lack of carnal content and abundance of political symbolism.
The slim, $19.95 hardback from Callaway Arts & Entertainment features a colorful cast of characters, enhanced by Russian artist Gennady Spirin’s ornate and lively illustrations.
For starters, there’s Yakov, a humble shoemaker overwhelmed by the beauty of his 18th-century eastern European village and the sorrow of his young son’s illness.
Add a miracle-working old man, his young grandson and seven lively criminals – including Stinky Pasha (smells like the horses he steals) and Boris the Barefoot Midget (pint-sized pickpocket who’s afraid of the dark) – and what results is a tender, albeit peculiar, tale of how to make a miracle happen.
The moral lies in the thieves’ ability to heal Yakov’s son through prayer, even when the nameless, magical old man is stopped short by heaven’s locked gates. A blurb from Madonna inside the front cover is gently profound: “When we go against our selfish natures, we make miracles happen, in our lives and in the lives of others. We must never forget that hidden behind a large amount of darkness is a large amount of light.”
But don’t be fooled. Even though Madonna has shifted to humble advice-giver, Yakov and the Seven Thieves – the third in her series of five children’s books – won’t make its way modestly into bookstores. A major international media campaign will accompany the release, beginning with interviews on 20/20 and Good Morning America.
Publisher Nicholas Callaway said the media attention comes from Madonna’s success and talent. “Her first two books have been global best sellers,” he said . “She has an unusual gift for communicating with people.”
Callaway might just be right. Her books, promoted as “stories for children of all ages (even grown-up ones),” the singer’s tales clearly appeal to readers. In Yakov, she aims to capture some universal elements of humanity – vulnerability, honesty and even dishonesty.
“This is a well-told story that has a timeless message,” Callaway said. “I hope it will be not only as well-received, but as popular as the first two books.”
Those books, The English Roses (September 2003) and Mr. Peabody’s Apples (November 2003), are available in 38 languages, plus a Braille edition, and in more than 110 countries. The English Roses was a New York Times best seller for 18 weeks, and Mr. Peabody’s Apples remained on the list for 10 weeks.
Two more books are already in the works. The Adventures of Abdi is scheduled to hit shelves in November. The other book, due out next April, at least suggests that the old Material Girl hasn’t completely vanished. Its title: Lotsa de Casha.
source : baltimore sun

Madonna with Guy Ritchie and kids on the set of Corvette commercial that Guy was filming in New York (June 20 2004)

Madonna bent over backward – literally – to give a crowd-pleasing performance at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, but she still wasn’t happy.
The singer, who’s been hounded by rumors of ill-health after canceling her first tour date due to the flu and reports of backstage fainting spells, didn’t get a wink of sleep Wednesday night.
The Material Mom showed up for preshow preparations on Thursday in a “really foul mood,” according to a backstage source.
But her dancers, who started rehearsing for the tour with the famously perfectionist performer back in March, celebrated anyway. They held a private party at Show on Thursday night while a camera crew captured their off-stage antics for “Truth or Dare 2,” a sequel to the infamous 1991 rockumentary.
source : NYPost

Madonna running in New York (June 19 2004)

Madonna has said US President George Bush and ex-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein are alike because ‘they are both behaving in an irresponsible manner’.
She pulled the anti-war video for her American Life single last year because there was a ‘lynch-mob’ patriotism in the US at the time, she told ABC News.
‘I have children to protect and I just didn’t think it was the right time.’
Madonna’s American Life video depicted Mr Bush kissing Saddam Hussein, and her tour has a strong anti-war message.
During the US interview Madonna tried to draw a line under her wild days, vowing to be ‘part of the order, not the chaos, of the world’.
She said: ‘The stance of a rebel is ‘I don’t care what you think’. But if it’s just for the sake of upsetting the apple cart, you’re not really helping people.’
‘You turn the apple cart over and then what? Then everyone’s looking at an apple cart that’s turned over and they’re like, well, now what do I do?’
The 45-year-old mother-of-two said her days of shedding her clothes on stage or in front of the camera are also over.
‘I thought I was liberating mankind but, like I said, I wasn’t really offering an alternative.’
‘To a certain extent I was saying ‘Look, you know, why do men only get the job of objectifying women in a sexual way? I want to do it too.’
‘There was an element of that, but there was also an element of being an exhibitionist and saying ‘look at me’. It wasn’t that altruistic. I can admit that.’
Madonna – who was named after her mother – said she now wanted to be called Esther as part of her following of the Kabbalah religious teachings.
‘My mother died when she was very young of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name,’ she said.
‘This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name.’
source : BBC

Madonna out and about in New York (June 18 2004)

Madonna with Guy Ritchie and kids at the Kabbalah centre in New York (June 18 2004)

Madonna will appear in a taped interview on Friday’s edition of 20/20 with Cynthia McFadden – where she talks about her tour, her family life, Kabbalah and explains why she has taken on the Hebrew name of Esther.
Madonna, the master of self-invention, has come a long way since her ‘Material Girl’ days. While she has no regrets about her moves on her climb to pop diva status, she tells ABC News’ 20/20, ‘I brought a lot of chaos to people’s lives, because of my selfish behavior.’
In her latest incarnation, the wife, mother, children’s book author and still-touring pop star says the ruling philosophy in her home is ‘pick up your s–t.’
Madonna may have made a career on rebellion, irreverence and sexually charged performance, but when it comes to her children, manners are important. ‘Even my children have to clean up their mess, clean up their rooms. Manners, thank you, please, take your dishes to the sink. I mean….gratitude, being grateful, that is, that has to happen….If it’s traditional to be a decent human being, then I’m traditional,’ she told ABC News’ Cynthia McFadden.
Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie in 2000. They have a son together, 4-year-old Rocco, and Madonna has a 7-year-old daughter, Lourdes, whose father is Madonna’s former personal trainer, Carlos Leon.
Madonna says her favorite aspect of getting older is ‘getting smarter’ and gives a rare glimpse of her private life with Ritchie. She tells McFadden she believes the key step to a successful marriage is ‘learning to apologize.’ She also shares one of the couple’s daily rituals, saying that after her grueling performances, she goes in the tub and her husband talks to her about the day.
Madonna also speaks candidly with McFadden about her study of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbala, which she believes is ‘incredibly punk rock’ and anti-establishment.
‘Kabbalists believe in immortality. They believe that you can overcome death, overcome illness, whatever, so, it’s….incredibly good to be a rebel,’ she said.
Madonna also reveals that she has also taken on the Hebrew name of Esther, explaining that, ‘I was named after my mother. My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name. This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name.’
Madonna also discusses her third and latest foray into children’s literature, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, which hits bookstores June 21.
Madonna has dedicated the book to ‘naughty children everywhere,’ saying that, ‘Even the naughtiest person in the world, big or small, has the capability to do something good in the world.’
Describing herself as ‘naughty child, number one,’ she espouses the power of prayer. ‘I pray every day and I believe that it is a very powerful way to communicate, to heal, to affect change.’
20/20 will also air exclusive footage from Madonna’s Reinvention tour, which comes to New York City’s Madison Square Garden today.
Watch Cynthia McFadden’s exclusive interview with Madonna on 20/20 Friday night at 10 p.m.
source : abcnews

Assuming a newly modest public image more in keeping with that of a nice Jewish girl than a “Material Girl,” pop star Madonna says she has adopted the Hebrew name of Esther.
The Catholic-bred singer/actress said in an ABC News “20/20″ interview airing on Friday that her identification with the Biblical queen celebrated in the Jewish festival of Purim stems in part from her adherence to the study of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah.
The performer, born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, recalled that she was very young when her mother, for whom she was named, died of cancer.
“I wanted to attach myself to another name,” she said according to excerpts from the interview released by ABC on Thursday. “This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. … I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name.”
The 45-year-old mother of two also insisted that despite her celebrated MTV awards kiss with Britney Spears, she has moved beyond the raunchy pop vixen image first cultivated two decades ago in such music-video hits as “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl.”
“I did spend, you know, at least a decade taking my clothes off and being photographed, saying bad words on TV, and, you know, that sort of thing,” she told ABC’s Cynthia McFadden. “I don’t regret it, but it’s just … I mean everybody takes their clothes off now. And then what? You know? And — and then what?”
Acknowledging that her association with Kabbalah has drawn criticism in some quarters as a celebrity trend, Madonna said her practice of it is sincere.
“I’m a little bit irritated that people think that it’s like some celebrity bandwagon that I’ve jumped on,” she said. “I’m very serious about it.”
As for day-to-day life on the domestic front, the wife of British director Guy Ritchie said one of her biggest mantras of motherhood has been: “Pick up your s–t.”
“Even my children have to clean up their mess, clean up their rooms,” she said. “Manners, ‘thank you,’ ‘please,’ ‘take your dishes to the sink.’ I mean … gratitude, being grateful — that is — that has to happen. .. If it’s traditional to be a decent human being, then I’m traditional.”
source : CNN