<?php
$xml = "<books>
  <book>
    <title>The Grapes of Wrath</title>
    <author>John Steinbeck</author>
  </book>
  <book>
    <title>The Pearl</title>
    <author>John Steinbeck</author>
  </book>
</books>";

$books = simplexml_load_string($xml);

foreach ($books->book as $book) {
  echo "{$book->title} was written by {$book->author}<br>\n";
}
?>