Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

by Carmen Agra Deedy, Michael Austin (Illustrator)

Overview

The beautiful Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage, so when suitors come calling, what is she to do?

Luckily, she has her Cuban family to help! While some of the Cucarachas offer Martina gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her some useful advice: spill coffee on his shoes to see how he handles anger. At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love.

After reading this award-winning retelling of the Cuban folktale, readers will never look at a cockroach the same way again. Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a delightfully inventive Cuban twist on the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café Cubano.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561457878
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	110,311
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Carmen Agra Deedy is a New York Times best-selling author and renowned storyteller. Her books have received numerous awards and honors. Carmen has performed in many prestigious venues, but children are her favorite audience. Born in Havana, Cuba, she came to the United States as a refugee and like most immigrants sees the world from multiple perspectives. She lives in Georgia.

Michael Austin grew up in Florida and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. A creative director, he has created art for many companies, including record labels and magazines, and has illustrated a dozen children's books. He lives in Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

Deedy’s text sparkles with sly humor… The stunning acrylic illustrations are full of color, light, and humor… This wonderful book will delight children.

From the Publisher

In retelling a popular Cuban folktale, Deedy (The Yellow Star) shares a secret closely guarded by Cuban grandmothers-at least, by Cuban grandmothers of cockroaches. When you spill coffee on your suitor's shoes, Abuela tells her 21-day-old granddaughter Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha, his reaction tells you all you need to know about what sort of spouse he will make. And events prove her right. "¡Ki-ki-ri-kiiii!" storms Don Gallo, the rooster, who seconds before has proposed very prettily to the six-legged beauty. "Clumsy cockroach! I will teach you better manners when you are my wife!" Don Cerdo the pig and Don Lagarto the lizard fare no better ("You are much too cold-blooded for me," Martina tells the lizard, who reveals in his irritation that he has actually planned to eat her). As a note on the book jacket explains, Cuban cockroaches are a lovely green, and Austin's (The Horned Toad Prince) lime-colored Martina, in high heels and a lace mantilla, appears the picture of maidenly charm. ("Daintily, she sat down/ and crossed her legs,/ and crossed her legs,/ and crossed her legs," quips Deedy.) Austin's cockroach dwelling is a desirable piece of real estate, with its stairs made of gum wrappers, its wrought-plastic comb railing, and its exclusive mid-Havana address (it's a lamppost). A friendly sprinkling of Spanish words, warmly drawn relationships and a lot of puns all widen the audience for this spirited story. A Spanish-language version is available as well. Ages 6-10. (Sept.)

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Publishers Weekly

Available in both English and Spanish editions, this new version of a story told in Cuba, Puerto Rico and other LatinAmerican countries is lively and funny, without the sad ending found in some tellings. With the help of her wise grandmother, Martina tries to find the best husband from among the suitors lining up to marry her. With the traditional "Coffee Test"-she spills hot coffee on their shoes to see their response-she is able to see that none of the wouldbe husbands-the haughty rooster, the odorous pig and the cockroacheating lizard-are good choices, judging by their angry reactions. Finally, Abuela (grandmother) shows her a humble mouse, Perez, who has a sweet voice. Martina falls in love at once, although she is surprised when he turns the tables and uses the Coffee Test on her, as instructed by his Cuban grandmother. The acrylic paintings have a dreamy, surrealistic quality, and elements of Cuban housewares and products can be found in Martina's home in a streetlamp. Fun to compare with other versions, this telling has magic all its own. (Folklore. 610)

Kirkus Reviews

Martina es una cucaracha joven y bonita que acaba de cumplir sus veintiún días de vida y está preparada para buscarse un novio. Pero antes de aceptar a ninguno de sus pretendientes, la abuela de Martina tiene que darle un consejo importante y extraño. Así empieza este libro encantador basado en un cuento folklórico de Cuba. Este audiolibro en ambos español e inglés está narrado por la autora y es pura diversión desde la primera frase hasta la última. Sra. Deedy lee su historia con tanta gracia y talento que los lectores/oyentes querrán escucharla otra y otra vez. Crea tantas voces vivaces y distintas que los oyentes reconocerán a cada uno de los personajes sin necesidad de más que sus orejas! Este audiolibro con la actuación excepcional de su autora proveerá un rato agradable para toda la familia. J.A.G. Ganador del premio Odyssey Honor de 2009



[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]--Martina is a young and beautiful cockroach who has just reached 21 days of age and is getting ready to find herself a husband. But before she sees any of her many suitors, her grandmother needs to give her some important and very strange advice. So begins this lovely story, based on a Cuban folktale. This audiobook, read in both English and Spanish, is narrated by the author and is pure enjoyment from the first sentence to the last. Deedy reads her story with so much charm and talent that her readers will want to listen, and listen again, to this story. She creates so many lively and distinctive voices that her readers/listeners won’t need more than their ears to recognize each of the characters! Families will enjoy the time they spend listening to this delightful audiobook and its author’s exceptional performance. J.A.G., trans. L.R.P. 2009 Odyssey Honor © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2009 - AudioFile