''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' is a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

written by American entertainer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. It was released on June 21, 2004, by

Callaway Arts & Entertainment Callaway Arts & Entertainment is a company based in New York founded by Nicholas Callaway. It specializes in the design, production, and publication of illustrated books and multimedia products. The company is known for producing books by Madonna ...

in over 110 countries and 38 different languages, including a

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

edition. The book contains a

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

tale and was inspired by a 300-year-old story by rabbi

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

, that Madonna had heard from her

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

teacher. The premise was set in a small, 18th century town in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, and the story talks about how everyone has the ability to open the gates of heaven, however unworthy one is deemed to be. The cover art and the images inside were painted by Russian illustrator

Gennady Spirin Gennady Spirin (born 25 December 1948) is a Russian painter and children's book illustrator. A graduate of the Surikov School of Fine Art in Moscow and the Moscow Stroganov Institute of Art, he is noted for his unique style of watercolor illust ...

who chose Baroque painting as inspiration for crafting the characters and the scenery. Like her previous endeavors, Madonna promoted the release by appearing on talk show and reading to children at a hospital in London. Critics gave mixed review of the book, with reviews being mostly negative about Madonna's writing but praised Spirin's illustrations. Three weeks after its release, ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' debuted at number seven on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in the category for Children's Picture books.

Synopsis

A cobbler called Yakov and his wife Olga are frightened that their gravely ill son Mikhail is dying. They hear about a man of healing who lives in the last house of their village and Yakov goes to him for guidance. The man refuses Yakov's money, instead clarifies that if he can save Yakov's son, the cobbler can repay by making a pair of shoes for his grandson. The next day, Yakov visited the man only to be told that when he had prayed, the gates of heaven would not open. The distressed cobbler begged him to try yet one more time. The healer asked his grandson to go into the village and find all the thieves, pickpockets and criminals, and bring them back to the house. They included the thieves Vladimir the Villain who could bend metal and punch holes through stones, Boris the Barefoot Midget who snatched the purse of old ladies, Ivan the Arsonist, Petra the Pickpocket, Stinky Pasha, Sadko the Snake, Igor the Tiger, all of them being a large host of ne'er-do-wells. With the healer's direction, the thieves all got on their knees and started to pray. A miracle occurred and the prayers of the men, who previously robbed by opening gates, helped to open the gates of heaven and Yakov's son was healed. The next day, Yakov came with a new pair of shoes for the grandson and declared that Mikhail was alive and well. It was the prayers of the gang of crooks that made a difference.

Background and development

In 2003, American singer

signed a contract with

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 two releases were ''

The English Roses ''The English Roses'' is a children's picture book written by American entertainer Madonna, released on September 15, 2003, by Callaway Arts & Entertainment. Jeffrey Fulvimari illustrated the book with line drawings. A moral tale, it tells t ...

'' (September 2003), and '' Mr. Peabody's Apples'' (November 2003). Both debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Joe D'Angelo from

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

confirmed that the third book would be titled ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves''. Madonna was again inspired by a 300-year-old story by rabbi

that she had heard from her

teacher, and wanted to share the "essence" of it. "We must never forget that hidden behind a large amount of darkness is a large amount of light," the singer wrote in the preface. According to the press release, the premise was set in a small, 18th century town in

and was written for readers aged six and up, with the book manufactured in a 32-page jacketed hardcover. The initial release date for ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' was set for April 2004, but publisher

Nicholas Callaway Nicholas Callaway (b. ) is an app producer, book publisher, television producer, writer and photographer. Callaway is the founder and CEO of Callaway Arts & Entertainment, a company that publishes illustrated books, mobile applications, computer-an ...

confirmed that the book would be released on June 21, 2004, in over 110 countries and 38 different languages, including a

edition. Although Callaway published it, the release was distributed through 42 agencies, including

Gallimard Jeunesse Gallimard Jeunesse is a French publisher of children's books. It is a subsidiary of Éditions Gallimard. It is the publisher of the French versions of '' Harry Potter'' by J.K. Rowling, the catalogue of Roald Dahl, ''The Little Prince'' by An ...

in France,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. Madonna promoted the book by appearing on

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

on June 16, 2004, where she dedicated the release to "naughty children everywhere" and spoke about the power of praying according to her. While on the

Re-Invention World Tour The Re-Invention World Tour (billed as Re-Invention World Tour 2004) was the sixth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, in support of her ninth studio album ''American Life'' (2003). The tour began on May 24, 2004, in Inglewood ...

of 2004, Madonna visited London's

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

, where her daughter Lourdes read an excerpt from the book to a group of ailing children. The cover art and the images inside were painted by Russian illustrator

. This was Spirin's first time working with a contemporary author and story, and was initially uncomfortable with the mayhem surrounding Madonna. He clarified that the ideas given to him were "clear" and "style parameters were set", which resulted in crafting the characters "amazingly quickly". Since the story was set in 18th century Europe, Spirin chose Baroque painting as inspiration since it made the book "dressier, but at the same time preserves the dramatic element and the psychological characteristics of each of the characters".

Critical and commercial reception

Three weeks after its release, ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' debuted at number seven on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in the category for Children's Picture books. The sales fell drastically, as observed by Edward Wyatt from ''The New York Times'', and it sold just 27,000 copies according to

Nielsen BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by The NPD Group in the United States and the Nielsen Company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South ...

. This was much less from the 321,000 copies sold of ''The English Roses'' and the 127,000 copies of ''Mr. Peabody's Apples''. Positive review came from ''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...

'' with critic Maria Sudekum Fisher complimenting the "redemption arc" of the storyline. The

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...

did not find any "weak bits" in the book and listed the introduction of the thieves as well as the illustrations as highlight. Canada.com found ''Yakov'' to be the best among Madonna's three released books, feeling that "the story moves along nicely and gets its message about redemption across without being too preachy. it's also appropriately written for its target audience". An article in ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' felt that had any unknown author released ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'', it would not have received much promotion. The review noted that the message in the story was distinct, describing it as "a more overtly religious message than is normally encountered in children's picture books" and found the moral as "purely medieval Catholicism". The critic added that "for all the ecumenical confusion, the message is heartfelt and the delivery straightforward. adonnahas a vivid and direct writing style—presumably the product of two decades of song-writing experience." The ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' complimented Spirin's illustrations and Madonna's comic writing while describing the seven thieves, but criticized her "soapbox approach" in telling a witty story. The review also noted Spirin adding minute details to the images, including "the smallest features of 18th-century European town life: cobbler's nails, brass drawer-pulls, feather pens, children's toys". Deirdre Donahue from ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' also complimented Spirin's paintings, but was critical of the story, calling it "dreary and inappropriate" as well as "lackluster and verbose". She criticized the fact that Spirin's name was not present on the book cover art and felt that ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' was the "worst" of Madonna's three published children's books. "Dying children, prayers, criminals praying to open the gates of heaven. It's positively Grimm. Yakov will either bore or frighten children," Donahue concluded. Tim Adams from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' compared the release to the work of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

, but added that the "triteness of the story and the easiness of the moralising is more than redeemed by the excellence of the illustrations". Reviewing the book for '' Tablet'', Ayelet Waldman found the moral of the story as "unsatisfying and somehow ill-constructed", as well as "half-baked". She complimented Spirin's paintings describing them as "complex and multilayered" like

Renaissance paintings The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, but found it odd that the renderings were not Jewish, and instead the illustrator gave a Tudor town. Waldman believed that ''Yakov and the Seven Thieves'' would become "a staple of

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

gift-giving. It's a muddled and simplistic story ..but the illustrations are lovely and the title sounds like those of all the other boring Jewish storybooks." Jane Doonan from ''

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

'' listed the artwork as the "best reason" for buying the book, since she felt that the "internal logic of the story doesn't bear inspection, and the mawkishness and moralising is unappealing".

Release history

References

External links

''Yakov and the Seven Thieves''
at Scholastic
The Madonna Children's Limited Edition Boxed Set
at Callaway {{Madonna 2004 children's books American picture books Books by Madonna Children's fiction books