Martina

Catalina

Josephina

Cucaracha…

Beautiful muchacha!

Won’t you be my wife?

So say Martina’s suitors in this wonderful retold tale of Old Havana, written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Michael Austin. The best thing about Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale is how wonderful it is to read aloud. Reading it out loud is so fun, you can almost hear Tito Puente in the background.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach starts with Martina, the most beautiful cockroach in all of Old Havana, readying herself to meet potential suitors. She worries that she won’t know how to pick from all the eligible bachelors who want to woo her, but her grandmother tells her the secret to finding out who will make the best husband. Martina is to offer them a cup of coffee, and then “accidentally” spill it on their shoes. How the beaus react to this accident will show her at their worst, and she’ll know their true temperament.

One by one, the suitors come to visit: the overblown Rooster, the piggish Pig, the slimy lizard…and one by one, they fail abuela’s coffee test. Will Martina ever find true love? Maybe…Perez the mouse is quietly waiting for his audience with Martina, and he has a Cuban grandmother too!

This book is a Pura Belpré honor book for 2008, and it’s easy to see why. Fun to read, full of quirky cultural references, this book teaches that beauty is as beauty does…and Cuban grandmothers always know best.

The Spanish version is also available: Martina, una Cucracha Muy Linda: Un Cuento Cubano