Advanced Recommended Book Search - Cooperative Children's Book Center

Marta! Big & Small

“To a lion, Marta is tranquila. Quiet, very quiet. / To a rabbit, Marta is ruidosa. Loud, very loud.” The same textual pattern is used on each two-page spread, cleverly describing an active little girl’s qualities in terms of comparisons and opposites. Spanish adjectives are seamlessly incorporated into the text and for each one, the English word follows as an echo. When all of Marta’s qualities are reiterated at story’s end, the animal names appear in Spanish, easily decipherable from the clear picture clues. The appealing illustrations capture Marta’s spirited nature and underscore the girl-power theme of the book, which ends with Marta described as “clever, very clever, like una niña.” ©2016 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Angela Dominguez

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 2-5
Age Range: Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3) PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Animals (Fiction) Bilingual Books Comparisons Perspective/Point of View Spanish Language
Diversity subject: Latine

Publisher: Roaring Brook
Publish Year: 2016
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781626722439

CCBC Location: Picture Book, Arena

Marta! Big & Small