Mañanaland

Even though I read this book in a day, it is going to be one that will stick with me for a while.

I have to thank my coworker for turning me on to Pam Munoz Ryan in the first place. "Echo" is one of my all time favorite books and I constantly recommend it. I also put it on the Bookmobile every single time I need to shelve. But anyway, in the midst of this COVID19 physical distancing world, I forgot that Ms. Ryan had a new book coming out. So imagine my surprise when I was scrolling through my library's digital collection and found it without holds. Happy Sunday to me!!

It's the story of Max, living with his father and grandfather. Max longs to know who his mother is but that is a mystery. His father will not share the story. In fact, show more there are many things that his father will not share with him. In fact, Max and his father appear to live in a state of disconnect with each other.

Until one day, Max's father leaves on a trip. It is during this time that Max goes seeking answers. He longs to find his mother who, by all accounts and his snooping, appears to be in Mananaland.....tomorrow land. Where is this place? Is the village gossip true? Was his mother someone bad and evil? Does she live on and protect him in the spirit of the falcon as stories also say?

This book is absolutely magical realism but I think is important to note. I find many of my readers do not gravitate to realistic fiction. But fantasy and magic sell, sell, sell......so in typical Pam Munoz Ryan, she appeals to melding both worlds in harmony. This book is a quick read, even quicker than "Echo" which works quite well for a slightly younger middle grade audience. However, the themes and nuances are ones even adults can appreciate. We discover that Max's family has been "guardians", protecting those who have fled the neighboring country for one reason or another. Some people say those "refugees" are thieves and murderers. Others say they wanted a better life.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? It feels like a refugee story for these current times!

It's the story about making a difference. Of realizing that tomorrow is A.) not guaranteed and B.) not all it is cracked up to be. There is so much more to life than always holding onto the past. And yet it is what shapes and molds who we are. We have a role to play.

It is topics such as these that make Mananaland a wonderful book. I cannot wait to get it on the Bookmobile! show less

Aboy journeys to self-discovery through the power of stories and traditions.

Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Córdoba is ready for an idyllic summer. He plans to work hard as a builder for his father and train for fútbol tryouts. Plus, Max hopes dad will take him to visit the towering ruins of La Reina Gigante, a haunted hideout used in the past by the Guardians to hide refugees as they fled Abismo, a war-torn, neighboring dictatorship. However, when Max must provide his birth certificate to join the team, he feels his dream summer crumble away. The document disappeared years ago, along with his mother, the woman with whom Max shares “leche quemada” eyes. Soon, Papá leaves on a three-week journey to request a new one, and Max finds show more himself torn between two desires: to know the truth about why his mother left when he was a baby and to make the team. As Max discovers the enchanting stories his grandfather has been telling him for years have an actual foothold in reality, he must choose between his own dreams and those of others. Kirkus Prize winner Ryan (Echo, 2015) beautifully layers thought-provoking topics onto her narrative while keeping readers immersed in the story’s world. Although set in the fictional country of Santa Maria, “somewhere in the Américas,” the struggles of refugee immigrants and the compassion of those who protect the travelers feel very relevant.

This tightly packed, powerful fantasy contains resonant truths. (Fantasy. 7-14)

-Kirkus Review show less

Everything a children's book should be: A mystery about the mother is the thread connecting the story; Grandfather & aunts who love & support him; A dad whose reasons for overprotectiveness are discovered in the end; Max's best friend is changing & he feels the loss. The setting could be somewhere in Latinoamerica where people are in danger and have to leave their homes. Lots of self growth occurs when he helps another to safety. Written beautifully with folk stories like dreams woven throughout.

Teachers can use this to talk about immigration & emigration, tying this book to the many nonfiction ones available about relocation because of home insecurity due to violence.

I loved reading this story because it was so strikingly similar to the current political climate in the United States, especially as it relates to undocumented people living here. Many people hate it, so this story would need an email sent home to parents before it is assigned, but the language is accessible, the themes are important to discuss, and children can see themselves in an incredibly brave character and know that they too can make a difference.

I absolutely adored this heartfelt story about being brave, even when it’s hard; looking forward to good things even when bad things happen; and making peace with never knowing the answers to even your biggest questions.

Max, a young Latin-American boy raised by his father and grandfather who has never known his mother, is determined to make his town's soccer team, and when he's disallowed from going to soccer camp, begins to learn his father's business: stone masonry. It turns out, though, that his family isn't just legendary soccer players and bridge builders--they have a far nobler profession, too.

Mananaland serves as an accessible introduction to domestic violence, immigration and human migration, and the importance of altruism show more and kindness (in many ways quite literally paying it forward). Lively in its cast of characters, lush in its worldbuilding, and incredibly human, Mananaland will be a well-loved addition to Pam Munoz Ryan's bibliography. show less

Max lives with his father, grandfather, and their dog Lola in the small town of Santa Maria, where Max and his friends dream of making the fúbol team. But the team has a new coach this year, and every player has to prove their age with a birth certificate - which Max finds out he doesn't have. While his father goes to San Clemente to try to obtain one, Max receives a visitor in trouble, and agrees to take her to the next safe place, despite the fact that he's never made the journey before; he wants to know what happened to his mother. Max and Isadora - and Lola and Isa's kitten, Churro - make the dangerous journey using Max's father's map and Buelo's stories.

The story takes place "somewhere in the Américas," and it's universal in its show more themes of people fleeing violence and cruelty in the hope of finding somewhere safe.

See also: The Only Road

Quotes

"Santa Maria is small, but it is on the way to everywhere." (93)

How could he carry something so enormous and troubling in his heart, yet behave as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened? (122)

"People on a journey sometimes discard the unnecessary." (Yadra, 193)

You will witness the best and worst in people. Embrace the best and dismiss the worst. You are not doomed to live beneath other people's misguided notions. (220)

"Solo mañana sabe." [Only tomorrow knows] (239) show less

Max is amazing! His journey is treacherous and important, but told so elegantly and simply that young readers will want to travel along with him. I just love the storytelling style, hinting at allegory but dealing with very gritty realities of immigrant families.