The Adventures of Abdi the poor queen. The enraged king orders them to be thrown in the dungeon forever. In 2003, Madonna signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment for a series of five children's books. She explained that each book dealt "with issues that all children confront... Hopefully there is a lesson that will help kids turn painful or scary situations into learning experiences". The first three releases were "The English Roses" (September 2003), "Mr. Peabody's Apples" (November 2003), and "Yakov and the Seven Thieves" (June 2004). All three charted on "The New York Times" Best Seller list. Cumulatively, the three books
The English Roses because their lives might be harder than ours." The reviewer noted Jewish influences in the story with the name Binah, and the character calling her father "papa" and wearing a "shmatte" on her head. Kate Kellaway of "The Observer" described the story as "written in language that veers between Hilaire Belloc and breakfast TV", finding the tone arch and strained but containing charm. She felt Fulvimari's illustrations made the book look like "a party invitation with his pictures of a garlanded, girly existence: each English rose a fashion-plate, with a doe-eyed stare, caught up in a whirl of blue butterflies,