Marta! Big Small

Add to Wishlist

Marta! Big Small

Hardcover

$16.99

Hardcover
$16.99

SHIP THIS ITEM

Temporarily Out of Stock Online
PICK UP IN STORE

Your local store may have stock of this item.

Available within 2 business hours

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Related collections and offers

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Overview

Marta is una niña, an ordinary girl . . . with some extraordinary animal friends!

As Marta explores the jungle, she knows she's bigger than a bug, smaller than an elephant, and faster than a turtle. But then she meets the snake, who thinks Marta is sabrosa—tasty, very tasty! But Marta is ingeniosa, a very clever girl, and she outsmarts the snake with hilarious results.

With simple Spanish and a glossary at the end, this fun read-aloud picture book, Marta! Big and Small, teaches little ones to identify opposites and animals and learn new words.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722439
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	08/23/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	419,850
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jen Arena is a former editorial director at Random House Books for Young Readers. She now writes books for children full-time, including 100 Snowmen, a wintry counting story, and Besos for Baby, a bilingual board book of kisses. Her books have been translated into French, Korean, Arabic, and, of course, Spanish.

Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City, grew up in Texas, and lived in San Francisco. She's the author and illustrator of picture books such as Let's Go, Hugo!; Santiago Stays; Knit Together; and Maria Had a Little Llama, an American Library Association Pura Belpré Illustration Honor book. She now writes and creates in her studio in Brooklyn, New York.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2016
Arena and Dominguez nimbly combine an exploration of relativity with an introduction to Spanish vocabulary as una niña named Marta encounters various animals while exploring a junglelike setting. Though the text is minimal, Arena uses repetition and context clues to make each concept readily clear: “To a horse, Marta is lenta. Slow, very slow. To a turtle, Marta is rápida. Fast, very fast.” Dominguez’s loose, energetic illustrations underscore the meanings of each term and, during a run-in with a hungry snake, help demonstrate that Marta is—among other things—“ingeniosa. Clever, very clever.” Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Jill Corcoran, Jill Corcoran Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

“A cross between a concept book and a word book, this is a fun read-aloud to use anytime or in a bilingual storytime program.” —School Library Journal
“Arena’s clever, catchy text might invite some play-acting games, and the lively energy of her informative words is well matched by Dominguez’ friendly, dynamic creatures in an earth-toned palette. This handy introduction to Spanish vocabulary is perfect for animal-lovers of all stripes.” —Booklist
“Pura Belpré honoree Dominguez's green, brown, and tan illustrations capture the movement in each spread . . . Marta's adventure is an enjoyable way to introduce animals, observe concepts, and identify comparisons and polarities in English and en Español.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Arena and Dominguez nimbly combine an exploration of relativity with an introduction to Spanish vocabulary.” —Publisher's Weekly
“An ideal choice for bilingual storytimes.” —The Bulletin

From the Publisher

Marta is a young girl who explores the jungle and finds both big and small animals that compare Marta to one of their characteristics. A bug finds Marta to be very big, or grande. To an elephant, Marta is very small, or pequena. Each description is written in both English and Spanish. She meets a turtle who thinks she is very fast, and a lion who thinks she is very quiet. When a snake sees her, he thinks she is sabrosa, or very tasty. There is a moment of drama when the reader only sees the tail of the snake and Marta’s tennis shoe. But happily, Marta has climbed up a tree and escaped from the snake. Several pages show Marta acting loud like a lion and copying the other animals’ features. The descriptive words are written in Spanish. There are two pages at the end of the book that list the words that were in the story in both English and Spanish. This bilingual text contains large and amusing illustrations. The story with its brief text would be fun for children to read aloud and is a simple way for them to identify animals, learn the English and Spanish vocabulary, and understand the concept of opposite words. It is an entertaining and useful book for beginning readers and a good resource for schools and libraries. Reviewer: Vicki Foote; Ages 4 to 7.

Children's Literature - Vicki Foote

08/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—Young readers are introduced to the Spanish words for some opposites and animals by Marta, a very clever niña. Arena uses the Spanish word within the English text and then proceeds to use the word again, this time in English, thereby making the meaning clear. For instance, "To a bug, Marta is grande. Big, very big." The Spanish word is always highlighted in orange. Dominguez's artwork provides pictorial reinforcement. Changes in perspective emphasize and help visualize the different opposites. Standing out against a white background, Dominguez's illustrations, done with colored pencils and bold outlines with an earthy palette of mainly browns and greens, introduce humor to what could otherwise be a dry book. There is even a little tension when Marta meets a serpent: "To a snake, Marta is sabrosa." On the spread that follows, there are three words and a picture of a snake: "Tasty, very tasty…." The snake encounter is also used as the moment to present the Spanish names of all the animals Marta came across. At the end there is a list of all the Spanish words and their English counterparts, but there is no pronunciation guide. VERDICT A cross between a concept book and a word book, this is a fun read-aloud to use anytime or in a bilingual storytime program.—Lucia Acosta, Children's Literature Specialist, NJ

School Library Journal

2016-05-04
Opposites, animals, and Spanish vocabulary introduce concepts to early readers. Arena introduces readers to purple-backpack-wearing Marta, an adventurous explorer. As she journeys through a fanciful backyard "jungle," light-skinned Latina Marta discovers and observes the opposites between herself and the animals she encounters, from size to speed to stealth. "To a horse, Marta is lenta. Slow, very slow." The page-turn completes the contrast: "To a turtle, Marta is rápida. Fast, very fast." The Spanish words are printed in orange and a playful typeface, a clever approach to avoid italics, an old-fashioned norm. After a series of polarities that introduce Spanish descriptive vocabulary, the journey reintroduces the animals in Spanish translation and offers gentle contradictions to the earlier assertions. "Marta is loud like el león," and next to the phrase, there's a profile of a lion in midroar and Marta with a megaphone. Pura Belpré honoree Dominguez's green, brown, and tan illustrations capture the movement in each spread: an elephant's trunk in midswing, a galloping horse with leaves floating behind, a rabbit hopping away from Marta. Marta's adventure is an enjoyable way to introduce animals, observe concepts, and identify comparisons and polarities in English and en Español. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

Customer Reviews

Explore More Items

Happy Easter from the Crayons

Celebrate Easter with a hilarious holiday adventure starring the crayons from the #1 New York Times bestseller The Day the Crayons Quit!

Easter is the perfect holiday for crayons! They get to learn