Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Mañanaland, published in 2020 by Scholastic Press, is a coming-of-age novel for middle-grade readers. It’s a timeless legend about seeking answers to life’s mysteries, seeking adventure, and helping people escape hardship to find a better future.

Mañanaland won the 2021 Horace Mann Upstanders Children’s Book Award, was a 2020 International Latino Book Award, and was recognized as one of the best books of 2020 by the New York Times, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.

Plot Summary

Mañanaland is divided in three sections: “Yesterday,” “Today,” and “Tomorrow.” This passage of time marks Max’s spiritual growth as his journey teaches him about himself and the world around him. The story is set in the village of Santa Maria, where legends come to life. A stone tower called La Reina Gigante (Giant Queen) sits on a cliff and watches over the village.

Protagonist Maximiliano “Max” Córdoba will soon be turning 12. He practices fútbol with his friends—Chuy, Ortiz, and Guillermo—to prepare for tryouts in 5 weeks. They just need to prove their age with a birth certificate to be eligible for the team. If Max makes the team, he will be continuing his family’s legacy. His father Papá once played for the national team, and Max’s grandfather Buelo even played in a tournament with the famous footballer Nandito—and has a photograph to prove it! Papá and Buelo build bridges for a living. They lay every stone with patience and care to ensure their bridges never fall. Córdoba bridges fill the village, crossing over the river running through Santa Maria.

Max has a big imagination. He loves to tell stories and ponder life’s big questions. Unlike Max, Max’s Papá is always serious and rational. Max’s mother left when Max was a baby, and ever since Papá has been weighed down by sadness and worry. Papá never gives Max the freedom he craves or tells Max anything about his mother. Papá is waiting until Max is older, though Max wishes Papá could see that he is growing up. Most of all, Max wants to know more about his mother and why she left. Max wears her old compass around his neck, hoping to one day meet her and return it.

Papá refuses to let Max attend a fútbol clinic in Santa Inés with Max’s friends, who start to hang out without Max. Then, Papá tells Max a big secret: Max’s family were original guardians of the hidden ones. However, Max can’t tell anyone because some people in Santa Maria believe the hidden ones and guardians were criminals. Papá also confesses to Max that Max doesn’t have a birth certificate. When Max’s mother left, she took everything with her, including Max’s proof of birth. Without a birth certificate, Max will be barred from the fútbol team. Papá sets off to the town of San Clemente, where Max was born, to find a solution. Papá hopes to be back in time for tryouts, but things don’t look promising.

Max snoops through Papá’s important papers and finds a stone rubbing that says “Mañanaland.” Max visits the tower and finds the rubbing matches a message carved by his mother. This clue leads Max to believe his mother was once a hidden one and must be somewhere in a country called Mañanaland.

One stormy night, while Papá is still away and Buelo is visiting a friend, leaving Max all alone, strange things begin to occur. La Reina Gigante visits Max in the night and sings him a lullaby. Then, a man named Father Romero arrives urgently asking for a guardian. A young girl named Isadora is fleeing Abismo to reunite with her older sister, Rosalina. Dangerous people are searching for them. Max volunteers to go on the journey as guardian.

Max and Isadora form a close friendship. They are nearly caught twice by dangerous men, but their bravery and creativity allow them to escape. They reach their destination: the secret bridge from Buelo’s story. Max meets Yadra, who decides Max is true of heart and takes him on a journey across the river. On this journey, Yadra helps Max find closure about his mother. Yadra reveals to Max that Mañanaland isn’t a place, it’s a metaphor for hope. Max comes to understand the complex reasons behind his mother’s decisions.

Max returns home with new wisdom and determination. Papá returns, too, with approved documents proving Max’s birth. Max and Papá grow closer and Papá finally recognizes Max is growing up. Max makes the fútbol team and continues his family’s legacy.