Title: Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale Author (Retold by): Carmen Agra Deedy Illustrator: Michael Austin
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Pura Belpre Award or Honor Books
Citation: Deedy, C. (2007). Martina the beautiful cockroach: A cuban folktale (M. Austin, Illustrator). Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers.
Genre/Type: Folktale, Picture Book, Modern Fantasy
Summary: This is a very sweet and enjoyable book about a cockroach named Martina who is looking for a husband. She looks all over the land for someone who is her perfect match and is surprised when it is harder to find a husband than she originally thought. The illustrations are very large and sometimes use both pages to illustrate and sometimes the illustration is on one page and the text is on the next. The colors are beautiful and reflect the mood that is being set through the text. When Martina is happy, the colors are very bright and vibrant and they are dull and diluted when she is sad or upset.
Awards: Pura Belpre Author Honor, 2008, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2008
How does this book relate to young children?
It teaches young children that outside beauty isn’t what matters, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
You could use this book to help children learn Spanish, many words are said in Spanish and then explained in English so the reader is able to understand every word. Also, ever suitor used the same phrase to propose to Martina so the students can say it together when the teacher or parent comes to that point in the story.
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Pura Belpre Award or Honor Books
Citation: Mora, P. (2009). Gracias thanks (J. Parra, Illustrator). New York, NY: Lee & Low Books Inc.
Genre/Type: Bilingual Picture Book, Multicutural Fiction
Summary: This bilingual book is all about being thankful of what you have been given. A young boy is the narrator and on each page you get to see something that he is thankful for and be able to think about what you have that you are thankful to have experienced. The illustrations are great and the colors are amazing. The illustrations help you understand the young boys thankfulness because of how bright and colorful the illustrations are. It helps convey the boys sense of wonder in everything.
Awards:
Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor 2010
Suggested Reading List 2012 (New York Reading Association)
Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award, Book of the Year
ALA Notable Children's Book
How does this book relate to young children?
It teaches children to be thankful of everything that they have been given and to not take anything for granted.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
The book is written in both English and Spanish with the Spanish translation written before the English text. This would be a great way to teach students either English or Spanish, have them read the story in either language and then compare the words in each sentence to try to figure out the translations.
Title: My Abuelita Author: Tony Johnston Illustrator: Yuyi Morales Photographed by: Tim O’Meara
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Pura Belpre Award or Honor Books
Citation: Johnston, T. (2009). My abuelita (Y. Morales, Illustrator). Orlando, Florida: Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company.
Genre/Type: Realistic Fiction, Picture Book
Summary: My Abuelita is about a young boy who believes he has the best grandmother ever. The story follows the two as the boy describes his grandmother and her different attributes and explains how cool she is and how he wants to be just like her when he grows up. The illustrations are almost comical as you go through the story. Everything seems to be drawn overly large with bright, vibrant colors. I believe this helps explain how the young boy holds his grandmother in such high regard and shows how he see’s everything that she does.
Awards: Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor 2010, 2010 Kids reading list on Oprah.com
How does this book relate to young children?
Children will love this story because it shows their grandparents or any adult in general, in a humorous light. It shows how they may love their grandparents no matter how extreme they seem to be to others.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
This book can be used to introduce children to the Spanish language. The text incorporates Spanish words into the text with the English translation immediately following. You could read the book aloud to a child and ask them what they think the word means in English, then have them look or listen to the translation as you read it aloud.
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