English Roses: Too Good to Be True (by Madonna)

As Dominic begins to show more of an interest in Binah than in the other girls, the other girls begin snubbing Binah and leaving her out of their usual activities. The problem comes to a head as the class prepares to hold a school dance. However, the ingenuity of their teacher Miss Fluffernutter and the help of the fairy godmother pull things back together.

In this story, the quintet learns a few lessons about jealousy, this time it's over liking the same boy. While the lessons learned are quite pertinent and discussion-worthy for tween girls, the illustrations don't carry the same positive messages. The characters promote a skinny-model girl image that is already too prevalent in today's media world, and the story seems to condone the idea of the snooty girl clique.

All in all this story is cleverly told and entertaining. Again Madonna employs the classical storytelling technique whereby the narrator interjects comments now and then that playfully chastise the reader. She has also developed several silly characters: the playful, eccentric teacher Mrs. Fluffernutter, the pumpernickel-eating fairy godmother, and the dancing Ferguson boys with their tongue-twisting names Timmy, Terry, Taffy, and Tricky.