In an Enchanted World, Echoes of Today’s Political Dramas

Children’s Books Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Córdoba is full of wondering. He wonders about his mother, who disappeared when he was a baby. He wonders about the stories and legends of his small town, which exists in the fictional nation of Santa Maria, “somewhere in the Américas. ” He wonders why his father — a bridge-builder — is so overprotective, solemn and secretive.

These mysteries, along with clear allusions to present-day issues, create a richly layered atmosphere in MAÑANALAND (Scholastic, 247 pp. , $18. 99; ages 8 to 12), the latest from Pam Muñoz Ryan, whose novels include the Newbery Honor-winning “Echo. ” The story begins with Max playfully bouncing a soccer ball on the stone ledge of an arched bridge.

Santa Maria, it is said, is a “land of a hundred bridges” — a metaphor that serves as an underlying thread throughout the novel. Max takes us to the ruins of la Reina Gigante, once used by guardians to hide refugees from Abismo, a neighboring dictatorship. The villagers of Santa Maria have differing opinions on these past refugees. Some view them as innocents fleeing an oppressive regime — and, for many women, an abusive home life — while others insist these escapees were “malicious criminals, filthy beggars and the unwanted.

” It is said that the ruins are haunted — which fascinates Max, of course — and that the souls of the “hidden ones” return to the ruins each year on the wings of the peregrine falcon. Max happens to see a falcon on the day we meet him. Although haunts, stories and curiosities dominate Max’s imagination, he also has practical concerns befitting a boy of his age: He wants to play soccer. When he hears that the team will now require birth certificates to play, he is initially unbothered.

He knows how old he is, after all. What he doesn’t know — at least, not at first — is that his birth certificate disappeared alongside his mother. On the surface, this earthly concern seems unrelated to the haunted ruins.

“But when Max’s father leaves Santa Maria in search of the long-lost document, the narrative surrounding la Reina Gigante, Max’s mother and the role of the Córdoba family in the harboring of refugees opens wide and invites readers to tumble in.”