Martina the Beautiful Cockroach

Martina Josephina Catalina Cucaracha is searching for a perfect husband. She does the legendary "coffee test" for each contestant that comes through her door until finally she finds the right one for her!

This story is a legendary Cuban folktale and fantasy. It is a very good example of a multicultural book because it allows the display of an ethnic background to emerge. It is categorized as a fantasy because it has some features in the book that aren't found in the real world, such as a cockroach being beautiful (whoever heard of a cockroach being beautiful?) or the animals talking - the cockroaches, the rooster, pig, lizard and mouse can't talk in the real world.

Activities for the book probably would include a puppet play for a kindergarten class, one student could be the main character, one student could be the grandmother and the rest could be the rooster, pig, lizard, and cockroach.

Another activity could be that children could write a different version of the traditional Cuban story. Maybe make it as if it were written in today's world. Maybe switch the characters and make them human.

The illustrations in the book are very colorful, vivid, and very detailed. The illustrator draws the characters' expressions on their faces like a real human's expression.

I would personally choose this book to read to my children, at home, or at school, especially since there are a lot of fun characters in the book. I chose this book because the kindergarten class in my internship read it - but I didn't read the story. They listened to it on the CD player. The author made a CD of herself reading the story. She ad libbed most of it and did the voices of the characters. It was fun to hear all of the characters in their Spanish accents! If I were to read the story, I wouldn't know how to ad lib the parts, but read it word for word.

Carmen Agra Deedy, who is the author of this book, was born in Havana, Cuba and came to this country as a refugee in 1964. She has been writing children's books for nearly 20 years.

She has won many awards for her children's books.

• The Library Dragon  - won numerous children's state book awards
• The Yellow Star  - 2001 Jane Addams Peace Association Book Award
• and of course Martina the Beautiful Cockroach  - won 2008 Pura Belpre Honor Award and 2008 Best Children's book of the year 

In 2009 released a book  called 14 Cows for America which was based off of an amazing gift that America received from the Maazi tribe in Africa, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.



                                                         Bibliography
Deedy C.A., (2007) Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. Peachtree Publishing, Atlanta Georgia