Living in a lampost in old Havana, Martina is a 21 day old Cuban cockroach looking for a husband. While her relatives try to help her be more attractive, her grandmother advises her to spill coffee on her suitors shoes to test their reactions. Her suitors are unexpected for a cockroach- a rooster, a pig, and a lizard. Martina follows her grandmothers advice and is saved from being unhappily married or eaten! Martina worries that she will not find her true love but by following her grandmother's advice, she finds someone who is perfect for her - Perez the brown mouse who has been there all along! The moral of the story is that you should get to know your suitor better before you marry them.
Deedy has taken a traditional folktale and made it her own using subtle humor and puns such as a rooster that is too "cocky", a lizard that is "cold-blooded", and Martina is ready to give her "leg" in marriage. She uses a mix of Spanish words, names, and common forms of Spanish address to give an authentic Cuban feel. Children will love the natural rhythm in the story as well as the repetitive line " Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha, beautiful muchacha, won't you be my wife?".
Michael Austin, the illustrator has done a perfect job of enhancing this humorously written and entertaining Cuban folktale. His bright, colorful pictures are very detailed through the use of texture and show common Cuban objects re-purposed for a cockroach home. Children will soon realize that every page has a little brown mouse hidden in the illustrations. My favorite illustration is at the beginning of the story when the grandmother tells Martina of the Cuban coffee tradition. The look on Martina's face in the picture is very human and portrays her shock that her grandmother would have such a sneaky plan.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/Z28ChgqayU4
Available for purchase through Amazon.
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