Pam Muñoz Ryan

Newbery Honoree Pam Muñoz Ryan weaves an entrancing tale of courage and self-discovery.

Mañanaland

Pam Mu Ryan

From Newbery Honoree Pam Muñoz Ryan comes an entrancing journey of the heart. Max loves stories, especially the fantastical tale Buelo tells him about a mystical gatekeeper who can guide brave travellers on a journey into tomorrow. If Max could see tomorrow, he would know if he'd make Santa Maria's celebrated fútbol team, and whether he'd ever find his mother, who left when he was a baby. Papa refuses to talk about her, so Max has learned to stop asking. But when Papa is forced to reveal his involvement in an underground network of guardians that led people fleeing a neighboring country to safety, and the surprising reason Max's spot on the fútbol team may be threatened, everything he knew about himself and his family is upended. A treasured compass, a haunted tower, a mysterious stone rubbing, and a peregrine falcon propel Max on a dangerous search for clues about who he is and what the future holds.

Sarah Sammis

Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan is a Latinx middle grade novel that walks a fine line between realistic fiction and fantasy. Maximiliano Córdoba has grown up on his abuelo's stories (or Buelo) as he calls him. From those stories his learned important family and local history lessons, ones he will come to rely on when he's called to stand in for his father.

The set up of Max's world and story reminds me of the first episode of Las Leyendas (2017), except that Max remains grounded in his world and the stories he's grown up with don't manifest into an otherworldly adventure. Nor is Lola, his faithful Portuguese water dog, an alebrije.

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Raven K

*4.5. I have no idea why but I was a little hesitant about starting this. When I read the summary, it didn't seem like a type of story that I would enjoy. Every once and a while, if I see a book that may not be my "type", I try to go in open-minded and I'm so glad I did that with this one.

Tatiana Alvarez 

I typically don’t read Middle Grade books, but when I went to the NTTBF a few months back, I listened to this author speak and loved what she had to say. I remember loving Esperanza Rising so this book intrigued me. 

This book is a heroic story about seeking asylum, disguised as a fantasy book. It’s beautiful and super relevant to our world today. Max and his family are guardians. What they do, essentially, is help people escape their country and move somewhere safe. 

This has the potential of sparking amazing discussion and putting such a heavy topic in an easy way for middle grade readers to understand.

Mañanaland

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