Material Girl no more? Madonna says writing children's books is more fulfilling than being a pop chart queen or a movie star.

Her book, "The English Roses," went on sale on September 15th, appearing in 100 countries and in 30 languages as the first in her series of five tales for children.

The pop diva, whose only book until now was the 1992 photo essay titled "Sex," said she wrote the books to teach children some of the life lessons she's learned over the years.

"The most fun that I've had of all the things I've done creatively has been to write these books,"

"A lot of it has to do with the fact I'm not doing it to become more famous, and I'm not doing it to become richer. I'm not doing it because I think it's cool," Madonna said. "I'm doing it because I want to share something I know with children."

Hours after its release, the 48-page book was already No. 8 on Amazon.com's sales list. The initial print run is 1 million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 in the United States.

"The English Roses" is about a friendship shared by four girls and their mutual envy of a beautiful classmate, with illustrations by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.

The inspiration for the five books - coming editions will focus on sharing, accepting mistakes and other themes - came from her study of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, she said.

"There is one life-giving force in the world," Madonna declared. "When we disconnect from this life-giving force, that's when we bring chaos and pain and suffering into our lives. Each of the stories have to do with different ways you disconnect from God."

Madonna also said she was profoundly influenced by the experience of raising two children, Lourdes, 6, and Rocco, 3.

"The English Roses" is the latest among a growing number of celebrity-written children's books.

The next book in the series, "Mr. Peabody's Apples," will be out in November. Each tale is set in a different time and place and features new characters and different illustrators.

(Agencies)