Johnston Schools, 2023
“Maria Scrivan is a dynamic presenter! She has the ability to engage students and parents with her witty humor, enthusiasm, and love of what she does. Interacting with Ms. Scrivan is a delight. She is relatable and truly inspirational.”
Jenny Poitras, Notre Dame Prep
“Maria Scrivan’s talk provided the perfect mix of humor and humility. Our students were encouraged to try to find the funny in even the toughest of circumstances and to not let rejection stop their pursuits.”
Arlington Heights Library, 2023
“Maria is an engaging and energetic speaker who captures her audience’s attention right away. She was generous with her time and seems to enjoy talking to students, teachers, and librarians. Her message of self-acceptance resonates with both students and adults in her audience.”
Mario Orsatti, www.TMTalks.org
Maria’s got the gift for speech in spades! Her energy, enthusiasm, and wonderful personal story are extremely engaging. I loved interviewing her, and so did the thousand or so viewers to my weekly webcast.
John Schu, Book Joy Live
“Maria Scrivan was a guest on Book Joy Live, a weekly virtual program I host that celebrates books, story, and school libraries. Her passion for comics, her humor, and her kind heart imbued my heart and the viewers’ hearts with pure JOY. Thank you, Maria!
Melissa Jones, Girls Positivity Club
“Maria was an amazing speaker to the small group of girls in my youth organization, Girls Positivity Club. She shared her writing process, showed us the real-life dog character, Treat, and spoke with the girls about following their passions and not giving up when faced with rejection. She elaborated on the questions the girls asked and was naturally genuine and responsive to the girls. One girl in my group was so excited to meet Maria because she has 3 Learning Disabilities and Nat Enough is the first unassigned book she has ever finished reading with success from cover to cover. That in itself paired with meeting her in ‘virtual’ person, was a priceless moment that she will cherish from her childhood. The messages in her books and in her speaking encourage kids to be who they are and to focus on the good qualities each person brings to the world.
Mike Cavallaro, Instructor, School of Visual Arts, NYC
“Maria brought an exuberant jolt of personality to my undergrad cartooning class. My students get plenty of “how-to” during the regular sessions, so I enjoyed watching them open up and engage with Maria’s instantly relatable story of her own artistic journey, including the challenge of finding one’s way after art school, a tale of particular interest for students about to graduate and enter the field, told with attention to both the creative and business aspects. Maria left many students with a renewed sense of the possibilities available in the field of cartooning, at a critical time in their own development. I’m hoping to have her back each semester, if she’s willing!
Tara Russell Ethridge, International School of Prague Librarian
“Our 3rd-6th grade students met with Maria online, and she is amazing with kids! We learned about her writing/drawing process, heard about her journey to becoming a cartoonist, and also learned how to draw Nat alongside her. Lots of rave reviews at our school from kids and teachers alike!
Angie Zhao, Events & Social Media Coordinator, BBGB Books
“Maria weaves fun, easy-to-follow drawing tutorials into honest discussions on feelings of inadequacy and later materializing her passion as a cartoonist/illustrator. Students left visits inspired, creative, and excited for what’s next for Nat!
School Board Member, Monticello, NY
“Amazing assembly with the incomparable Maria Scrivan. This NYT best-seller’s energy lit lights in my students’ minds sharing her writing process and growth mindset! We used our sketchnotes to chronicle our amazement!