The Peanut Man

Starred review from January 1, 2025
A young Cuban refugee unexpectedly reconnects with her home country in this 1960s-set tale. "�MANI! �MANI!" Each night, the Peanut Man's song reverberates through the Havana streets. For little Coqui, that means it's time to play a game with her friend Emilio, el mansiero (Spanish forpeanut vendor). Standing at the window with her thumbs in her ears and her tongue out, Coqui calls out, "Thiddle, thiddle, thiddle!" And Emilio does the same. "Every. Single. Night." One evening, Mami suddenly announces that the family must flee for los Estados Unidos. As a tearful Coqui confides the news to Emilio, her friend tries to lift her spirits. After all, that new country also promises lots of beisbol, the sport that Coqui loves. Promising never to forget her friend, Coqui leaves Havana for Decatur, Georgia. The seasons pass, and still, Coqui misses Cuba. Then..."PEANUTS!" A chance encounter at a Braves game reveals that home can be one yummy bag of peanuts away. Deedy brings her heartfelt, pensively paced tale to a satisfying conclusion. In a brief yet potent afterword, she recounts the personal origins of this wistful, vividly written immigrant tale of cherished memories and everyday bonds. Rendered in watercolor, colored pencil, and lithograph crayon, Col�n's artwork--a cozy series of sepia-tinged images--masterfully conjures up a past that still feels immediate. Exceptionally lovely, like a gentle tug at the heartstrings.(Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from December 2, 2024
Drawing from personal memories, per an afterword, Agra Deedy (Carina Felina) kicks off this relational telling focusing on the friendship between a child, Coqui, and Emilio, the peanut man of Old Havana. Every night on his route, he stands under Coqui’s balcony and the two exchange funny faces and sounds: “Thiddle, thiddle, thiddle!” they call back and forth. In golden, sunny hues, colored pencil and lithograph crayon drawings by Colón (Child of the Universe) imbue the neighborhood with the feel of Havana. When Coqui’s family leaves Cuba for the U.S. (“Your gentle father is a man with opinions,” Mami says, “And in our country, that can be dangerous”), and arrives in Georgia, “no Peanut Man sang that night, nor any night that followed.” But baseball reminds the child narrator of home, and when Papi gets tickets for a game, they cheer for Hank Aaron—and Coqui connects with a ballpark peanut vendor in a homecoming moment that mixes grief and mischief. It’s a personal-feeling telling that weaves together tradition, experiences of a new life, and a joyful revelation of commonality. Background characters are portrayed with a variety of skin tones. Ages 4–8.

March 1, 2025
Preschool-Grade 3 As a young child in Cuba in the 1960s, Coqui enjoys playing a special game each night from her bedroom window with Emilio, the peanut salesman in her Havana neighborhood: they take turns putting thumbs in their ears, sticking out their tongues, and making silly sounds. But one night, Coqui's mother says they have to leave for the U.S. because Cuba "can be dangerous" for people like her father, who has "opinions." They eventually arrive in Decatur, Georgia, where Coqui is homesick. Baseball is the only thing that reminds her of back home, and that fall, she goes to an Atlanta Braves game featuring Hank Aaron. There, Coqui excitedly meets a different peanut man and teaches him the special game she used to play with Emilio back in Cuba. An afterword by Deedy provides personal details for her inspiration behind the story. Illustrator Col�n's rich textures with sepia tones created from watercolor, etching, colored pencils, and lithographic pencils capture the story's setting and longing for the past. A personal and heartfelt portrait of displacement and looking for connection.

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