Now that you’ve explored the Great Montgomery Book Emporium with Property Jones, your summer reading adventure continues with Martina the Beautiful Cockroach! A humorous tale and a joy to read aloud, this delicious and witty retelling of the beloved Martina folktale is the perfect picture book to share with your younger readers.
Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn’t know coffee beans about love and marriage, and that’s where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, gives her something really useful: un consejo increíble, some shocking advice. At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela’s unorthodox suggestion, but when all her suitors fail the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. Soon, only the gardener Pérez, a tiny brown mouse, is left. But what will happen when Martina offers him café cubano?
Carmen Agra Deedy’s inventive Cuban folktale and Michael Austin’s beautiful illustrations just might change the way readers look at cockroaches. For more on this title, visit the Beautiful Martina website here. Spanish, ebook, and audio editions are also available!
Read an excerpt of this entertaining tale, and download the free teacher’s guide to learn more about Martina and her folktale background.
“Deedy’s text sparkles with sly humor… The stunning acrylic illustrations are full of color, light, and humor… This wonderful book will delight children.” ―School Library Journal
“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.” ―Publishers Weekly
“Lively and funny… Fun to compare with other versions, this telling has magic all its own.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Deedy’s masterful retelling of this Latino folktale has a rollicking voice imbued with sly tongue-in-cheek humor. The acrylic illustrations, in a hyper-realistic style reminiscent of a softer William Joyce, are rendered in a vivid tropical palette. Shifting perspectives and points of view add vitality to the compositions, and facial expressions reveal both emotions and character traits. A scattering of Spanish words adds zest to this fine read-aloud.” ―Booklist
Order your copy of Martina the Beautiful Cockroach today from Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or Barnes & Noble!
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