Martina the Beautiful Cockroach

I know... another book review, but in case you couldn't tell, I did a lot of reading while visiting my Dad. This one wasn't one of the ones I took with me but rather came as a recommendation from my friend, Liz, that we picked up at the library this week. The librarian is working on acquiring the audio version told by the author who is an award winning storyteller and which Liz says is hysterical to listen to. My kids made do with my crazy character voices and still thought it was a fun story.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy
From the editor:

Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage. That's where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increible, some shocking advice.

You want me to do what? Martina gasps.

At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's unorthodox suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails The Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love.

Martina

       Josefina

               Catalina

                     Cucaracha,

                        beautiful muchacha,

                                  won't you be my wife?

I won't spoil the ending, but think Princess & the Kiss with cockroaches. It's cute, really, and fun to read if you like rolling your R's every now and then.

And for those of you homeschooling mommy types who love a good rabbit trail, check out the book's website for more info on cafe cubano, folktale origins and words en espanol. There are a couple of pdfs you can download. (The "Folktale Origins" file is still under construction but don't miss the section called "your buzzzz" where children can click, print, fold and write from the perspective of Martina's suitors!

Adios muchachas!