Material Momma

Madonna's New Children's Book Asks If Money Can Buy Happiness

(AP)  "Lotsa de Casha," the fifth and final installment in a series of children's books by Madonna, has been released. It tells the story of the richest man in the world, who loses everything but gains a friend.

Written for readers ages 6 and up, "Lotsa de Casha" is described as "a whimsical updating of the age-old truth that money can't buy happiness." Nicholas Callaway, founder and chief executive officer of Callaway Arts & Entertainment, announced the book's publication Tuesday.

A children's book, slated for publication in late 2006, is part of a two-book deal that Kimora Lee Simmons has signed with Regan Books, the publisher announced Monday.

Regan Books will also publish a how-to lifestyle guide by Simmons, creator of the Baby Phat clothing label. Set for publication in February, the book will include "inspiring and personal stories" from the former model, who is married to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and is the mother of two daughters.

"If you think she got there just by being beautiful and marrying well, wait till you read the real story behind this remarkable woman," Judith Regan, publisher and founder of Regan Books, said in a statement.

Simmons is among 44 celebrities, including Paris and Nicky Hilton, Christina Aguilera, Rebecca Romijn, Elle Macpherson and Heidi Klum, who bared all for a new coffee table book titled "4 Inches," published by London-based Scriptum Editions.

The celebrities, wearing only Cartier jewels and 4-inch Jimmy Choo heels, were shot by renowned female photographers for the project to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation to benefit women and children suffering from AIDS in Africa, Cartier said in a statement Monday.

"4 Inches" will be launched in the United States on June 16, when select images from the book will be auctioned by Christie's at the Cartier Mansion in New York City.