Product Description

Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a deliciously inventive Cuban version of the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café cubano.

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. Soon, only the gardener Pérez, a tiny brown mouse, is left. But what will happen when Martina offers him café Cubano?

After reading this sweet and witty retelling of the Cuban folktale, you ll never look at a cockroach the same way again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #297350 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781561453993
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
CARMEN AGRA DEEDY is an award-winning storyteller and the author of numerous bestselling books for children. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1960, she emigrated from her homeland during the Cuban Revolution, a move that has profoundly affected her life and her work. Her parents, strong proponents of human rights, decided to leave after four tumultuous years in the midst of a revolutionary environment. They took Carmen and her sister and found sanctuary in the United States under the JFK Cuban Refugee Act of 1963.
They settled in Decatur, Georgia, where they coped with the separation from loved ones still in Cuba and acclimated to cultural differences. The Agra family ultimately succeeded in starting over and rebuilding their lives. While Deedy s storytelling reflects these themes of separation and family, she is better known for her razor-sharp wit and light, entertaining style. Also essential to Deedy s experience are her strong sense of perseverance and her dual heritage, drawn from growing up steeped in the riches of both Latin American and Southern culture. As a professional storyteller for many years Deedy has shared her stories with hundreds of thousands of children and adults at festivals, schools, conferences, theaters and museums across the nation and the ocean. She has performed at the Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival at Donat s Castle in Wales; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC; the Disney Institute in Orlando, FL; the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN; at the New Victory Theater on Broadway; and at the 2001, 2002 (where Deedy gave the Friday night keynote), and 2003 National Book Festivals in Washington, D.C. Her stories have also aired on National Public Radio s Weekend All Things Considered.

From AudioFile
Martina es una cucaracha joven y bonita que acaba de cumplir sus veinti��n d��as de vida y est�� preparada para buscarse un novio. Pero antes de aceptar a ninguno de sus pretendientes, la abuela de Martina tiene que darle un consejo importante y extra��o. As�� empieza este libro encantador basado en un cuento folkl��rico de Cuba. Este audiolibro en ambos espa��ol e ingl��s est�� narrado por la autora y es pura diversi��n desde la primera frase hasta la ��ltima. Sra. Deedy lee su historia con tanta gracia y talento que los lectores/oyentes querr��n escucharla otra y otra vez. Crea tantas voces vivaces y distintas que los oyentes reconocer��n a cada uno de los personajes sin necesidad de m��s que sus orejas! Este audiolibro con la actuaci��n excepcional de su autora proveer�� un rato agradable para toda la familia. J.A.G. Ganador del premio Odyssey Honor de 2009 [ENGLISH TRANSLATION]--Martina is a young and beautiful cockroach who has just reached 21 days of age and is getting ready to find herself a husband. But before she sees any of her many suitors, her grandmother needs to give her some important and very strange advice. So begins this lovely story, based on a Cuban folktale. This audiobook, read in both English and Spanish, is narrated by the author and is pure enjoyment from the first sentence to the last. Deedy reads her story with so much charm and talent that her readers will want to listen, and listen again, to this story. She creates so many lively and distinctive voices that her readers/listeners won't need more than their ears to recognize each of the characters! Families will enjoy the time they spend listening to this delightful audiobook and its author's exceptional performance. J.A.G., trans. L.R.P. 2009 Odyssey Honor © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Brilliance!
I absolutely love Deedy's rendition of this wonderful and unusual folktale. I had the opportunity to hear the author read it aloud to an audience and it was a magical experience. It is a hillarious story that practically everone can relate to. Deedy is phenomenal at telling stories from her heritage through perfectly crafted language. What a treat!

A Beautiful Folktale
I read this book to my class of first graders and they really loved it. We read it during character ed and talked about how some of the characters did not use self-control. The illustrations are gorgeous. I was a little worried about how the kids would react to the main character being a cockroach, but they just thought it was funny. I bought it because it was a Pura Belpré Medal award winner and I'm trying to have more multicultural books in the classroom.

Delightful!
This book is wonderful! I can't wait to read it with my Adult ESL students. I know they will love it too, and maybe they'll read it to their children. It's fun to read, beautiful to look at, and so imaginative. Everyone should have such a wise and wonderful Abuela!!