Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

Oh how I love this book, let me count the ways!

1. The illustrations, by Michael Austin, are beautifully, vibrantly and lushly colored with fun details for readers to examine. The scene of Martina's room is a prime example with a spoon as a mirror, a postage stamp as a poster, and a spool of thread

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as a stool.

2. The language is perfect for reading aloud with Deedy's phrases just tripping off the tongue - I cannot get enough of saying "Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha, Beautiful muchacha, Won't you be my wife?" I also love the interspersing of well-selected Spanish words that add to the Cuban flavor without obscuring the story for non-Spanish speakers.

3. The puns! The glorious puns! Don Gallo, the rooster, is too cocky for Martina. Don Lagarto, the lizard, is too cold-blooded. Don Cerdo, the pig, is a ham. I love it!

4. The big, gooey romantic story itself with some extra morals about being yourself and how actions are what really matter rather than looks. I know stories don't have to have a moral to be good, but I love this moral and I don't think it detracts from the story

5. The fact that this adapts with very little effort from Deedy's language for storytelling.

6. Martina and Abuela's sassy personalities.

The one thing I don't love about this book - where's the story and/or cultural note?

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Large, gorgeous illustrations. The mouse is so detailed an adorable, you could almost sqush him. The story has a sweet premise and poetic execution. The mix of Spanish and English is beautiful.

This folktale is about a cockroach who tests her future husbands by poring coffee on them to see how they react when they are mad. In the end, Martina, the cockroach finds a perfect match for herself--a mouse!

The illustrations, with its brilliant color and sparks of light, invite readers into a fantasy world where cockroaches search for suitors among many different animals. The story is fun to read, and in its own way it emphasizes the importance of knowing who you marry before you marry. What a

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wonderful message to send to little girls in a world where Cinderella and Prince Charming marry after only ever having danced together.

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In this humorous retelling of a Cuban folktale, a cockroach interviews her suitors in order to decide whom to marry.

Beautifully illustrated with color and detail of the characters. The illustrations really steal the story. It is a cute but also wise tale.

In this fantasy fiction book Martina is a beautiful cockroach with many suitors, her abuela (grandmother) tells her to use the coffee test. The coffee test is where you spill coffee on your suitors shoes and then you know how he'll handle anger. Martina tries this on many suitors and they all fail.

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Finally she tries it on a mouse, and he passes winning Marina over as his bride.

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The tale of a cockroach who is searching for a husband using her grandmother's advice. Each suitor fails Martina's test. (the rooster was rude and bossy, the swine was a filthy pig). Children will be introduced to Spanish words. Facial expressions on bugs/animals are hilarious! Teaches children

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wonderful lesson of kindness. Perfect for both group/individual.

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Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is a colorfully illustrated Cuban folktale that's a laugh for readers young and old. It follows the story of Martina Cucaracha on her journey to choose the right suitor with the help of her wise abuela (grandmother). Abuela convinces Martina use a tried-and-true

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trick to test how the suitors will speak to her when they're angry, and in the end, Martina finds the man of her dreams...and they have something very interesting in common.

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Martina is a beautiful cockroach, who has just come of age and is looking for a suitable husband. Everyone provides her with gifts to aid her in choosing a husband, but her grandmother gives her a piece of advice instead of a gift. The Grandmother states that Martina should spill coffee on her

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suitor’s shoes, so that she will make him angry and then she would know how he would treat her in their marriage. This folktale reflects the Cuban cultural belief that elders should be listened to and respected as wise members of society. Martina does not want to listen to her Grandmother but relinquishes, when her Grandmother insists. Martina does as her Grandmother asks and spills coffee on her first suitor, a rooster. When Martina sees his reaction, that is a not very pleasant one, she denies him her hand in marriage. After this first reaction she continues to use her wise Grandmothers advice and weed out the good and bad suitors. The story also echoes the fear that a woman will marry an abusive man, which when dealing with a patriarchal society, can be a scary thought. In a library this and other books that show Grandparents as being wise and knowledgeable could be used during a story time to show a respect for elders that is common in Hispanic culture. It could also be used in a story time that centers on healthy relationships between people and the value of a spouse.

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This was a great tale with amazing illustrations. I like how honest Deedy made the characters and the multi-cultural theme.

This is a good example of a folktale because it is real events that could take place but is played out by animals and insects.
This book seems like it could also be a fairytale.

Level: Primary

Setting: Back drop-- Takes place on the streets of Cuba, mentioned they were in Havana, Cuba.

Beautiful illustrations. It was an interesting/odd story with a pleasant ending. I guess I didn't grasp the point. Was Martina's sutors other animals because it was supposed to represent how acceptable it now is to marry outside of your own culture? It also seemed to portray stereotypes for the

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different animals. I probably wouldn't read it to my child, but I did enjoy the illustrations.

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This is a story about a beautiful cockroach named Martina who was in search of a husband. Her Cuban grandmother, Abuela, gave her some shocking advice for how she should conduct her search. Abuela suggested that Martina spill coffee on any suitors so that she can find out the temper of the suitor

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when something goes wrong. The 'Coffee Test' proved to work on the first suitors. Then she spotted a little brown mouse in the garden and she didn't want to perform the test again. To her surprise, the little mouse also had a Cuban grandmother, leading him to also perform the coffee test. Way too cute!

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Martina was a beautiful cockroach looking to get married. Many different suitors came to ask for her hand in marriage. Her grandmother told her the best way to judge your suitor’s character was to pour coffee on their feet to see how they will react. Again in this book the pictures tell us what

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the Spanish word in the text means without having to look it up, which is real helpful to children. The pictures add many details to the environment Martina lives in, so the reader can place themselves in the story. The colors are subdued and dark for the suitors that aren’t the right one for her and for the perfect suitor they are brighter and lively. There is a nice flow to the book in pictures and text. In the classroom: introduction to Spanish and folktales from around the world, Rhyming book

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Martina is a cockroach is trying to find a mate to marry. Her intelligent Abuela gives her advice on how to find a man. She tells her to spill coffee on his foot and this will tell Martina how the man will act everytime he is angry. A rooster, pig and lizard came to see her and they all were very

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angry at the spilled coffee, so Martina turned them away. Perez, a mouse caught Martina's eye and he already knew about the coffee test which he learned from his very smart Cuban Abuela!

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I read this book out loud to my mother and my son, three generations listening. We all laughed several times and there were some great nuances which only adults would find silly. My favorite part was when she, “Crossed he legs, crossed her legs, crossed her legs, and crossed her legs.” Such

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funny imagery, about how she crossed all eight legs! The end of the story was truly captivating! A must read, for everyone!

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Martina the beautiful cockroach has finally made it to her twenty first day and now it is time for her to pick the right husband. Not quite sure how to get started, her family supplies her with materials that may help. Her Cuban abuela comes with the best advice, the “Coffee Test.”

This was a

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great delightful story for me to read, I fell in love with the reactions and all the wonderful surprises. This story was full of humorous romance and silly manors. Also I enjoyed the Cuban feel and Spanish dialect.

This is great for in the classroom when introducing a different culture and language. Student can learn the basic Spanish words while also being able to bring a new interest into the home setting.

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This is a Cuban folktale about a cockroach reaching the age to get married. Her grandmother gives her some advice passed down through generations for finding the right husband. She has many suitors but finally one passes the test. It is because he has a cuban grandmother as well so he knew the

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trick her grandmother had taught her. At the end you see the two grandmothers and the couple happy.

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This provides a good lesson on character, and how bad characteristics can be revealed. The colorful and moody illustrations are great too.

This book is a good tale of a cockroach that is looking for a mate. The end expresses that you do not always have to end up with someone like you.

I love this version of the classic Cuban folktale. In Deedy's book, Martina tests her many suitors by dumping coffee on the feet of each. By their responses, she judges the character of each prospect.

"Martina nervously splattered coffee onto the rooster's spotless shoes. 'Oh my!' she said with mock

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dismay. 'I'm all feelers today!' "Ki-ki-ri-kiiii!' The rooster was furious. 'Clumsy cockroach! I will teach you better manners when you are my wife.' ..... 'A most humble offer, senor,' she said cooly, 'but I cannot accept. You are much too cocky for me.' "

The illustrations are beautiful and lifelike, with feathers, scales, plants and pants shown in great detail. A particularly nice touch are the background features that put the creatures' size into perspective. Martina uses a spoon for a mirror and has a postage stamp on the wall as artwork. Several stacked packages of gum with a jeweled comb handrail serve as her staircase. The dust jacket credits the author, the illustrator, and with a bit of whimsy- "The Real Martina," a description and photograph of the "real" Cuban Cockroach.

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This book is about a beautiful cockroach named Martina who is finally 21 days old and ready for marriage. Her Abuela convinces her to use the “coffee test” to find the right husband and she discovers a flock of very interesting suitors along the way.

Genre: Folktale
Review: This is a great example of a folktale because it is written in a simple and repetitive manner, and it teaches good morals and life lessons. Martina has reached the age where she needs to be looking for a husband, 3 times different suitors come and the same thing happens.

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Finally her Grandmother points out the humble mouse that is kind and patient. This book teaches children that it is best to have a calm temper when dealing with other people.
Setting: Since this book is a folktale there is no specific time period because it has been passed down through the ages. The location of this book is very vivid, the author does and excellent job of explaining where Martina's home is. However, the location is best seen through the illustrations that are given, the pictures are perfect for showing that she lives in a street lamp with her family in Old Havana.
Media: Acrylic

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