The English Roses is a charming story about acceptance, understanding, and reserving judgment until the facts known. This story is a beautiful way to explain to children that you can't always know what a person's life is like. It demonstrates this concept through the use of a fairy godmother, which harkens back to an older style fairy tale where children were encouraged to use their imaginations and believe in the magic that childhood represents. At the same time, Madonna gently pokes fun at the repetitiveness that sometimes creeps into children's stories by acknowledging to the reader when she does this. I enjoyed this story as much as my nieces and nephew did.

Gerald Allen Wunsch's delightful tale of Ginger and Irene's summer adventure while visiting Ginger's grandparents is a fun read for both young and old. A history lesson regarding slavery and The Underground Railroad is cleverly immersed in the contemporary tale of the curiosity of two modern young girls. The relationship between the girls, Ginger's grandparents, and their dog, Laird, creates a fun backdrop to the girl's exploration into a cellar that turns out to have played an important role in the history of The United States. Curiosity is an excellent book to use as a starting point for a conversation about the history of slavery in the United States.

Mr. Peabody's Apples tells the story of a beloved teacher whose reputation is ruined by a rumor started when a young boy believes he sees the teacher steal an apple. When the truth comes out, the young boy feels terrible especially when he realizes how difficult it is to take back something once it's been said. Not only is Mr. Peabody's Apples a lesson in choosing one's words carefully but, as in Madonna's first children's book, a lesson in not judging other people because one may not have all the facts the person's situation. The story is easy to read with a sweetness that avoids being sappy. Madonna's no-nonsense storytelling is a delightful departure from the many patronizing stories out there that insult a child's intelligence. Madonna doesn't try to hide the lesson in the story but writes it clearly into the events of the story without sounding preachy.