Maria Scrivan Books in Order

Maria Scrivan was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and she seems to have picked her job early. As a kid she read the Sunday comics from start to finish, studied every Garfield book she could find, and made little books of her own out of folded paper and crayons.

That childhood plan stuck.

She studied fine arts at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, then took the long scenic route into a creative life. Before becoming a full-time cartoonist and author, she worked in animation, graphic design, art direction, teaching, and a mix of other jobs, including fitness instruction and camp counseling. She kept drawing the whole time, learning how to turn everyday moments into clear, funny images.

For years, Scrivan brought cartoons into New York, showed her work to editors, and kept getting better. Her single-panel comic Half Full became the big break. The strip ran daily in newspapers around the country for a decade and gave her room to joke about pets, people, technology, and the little frustrations that are often funnier later than they are in the moment. Her cartoon-based greeting cards also found a huge audience and sold more than a million copies.

In 2018, she won the National Cartoonists Society Silver Reuben Award for greeting cards.

The move into graphic novels came from somewhere even closer to home. Scrivan had been journaling for years, and Nat Enough grew out of memories from her own sixth-grade life, including old diary entries, a book contest, and the sharp feeling of not fitting in. She has said that a teacher who showed her how to make books in school helped set her on this path, and that experience later found its way into Natalie’s story.

When Nat Enough arrived in 2020, readers connected fast. The book became a New York Times bestseller, and it is easy to see why. Natalie feels awkward, left out, and hard on herself, but she is also funny, observant, and creative. In Forget Me Nat, Absolutely Nat, and Nat for Nothing, Scrivan keeps returning to the same emotional territory: friendship shake-ups, crushes, embarrassment, self-doubt, and the slow, real work of liking yourself.

Her books are especially good at showing how big small moments feel when you are that age. A comment from a friend can ruin a day. A sketchbook can feel like a lifeline. A summer camp cabin can turn into a social minefield. Readers who like bright art, quick comic timing, and honest middle school feelings tend to find a lot to hold onto in Nat’s world.

Before the Nat books, Scrivan created Dogi The Yogi, a playful children’s book about a dog leading kids through yoga poses. That mix of movement, humor, and kindness says a lot about her work. She likes characters who feel a little awkward, a little underestimated, and very human.

She still lives in Connecticut, close to New York City. When she is not writing or drawing, she likes traveling, running and cycling outdoors, hiking, yoga, painting, gardening, and collecting books and art supplies. Even with a bestseller series and a long cartooning career behind her, she still comes across like someone who really loves the making of the thing.