Maryjean Riou

Oct 4, 2024 | slj.com | Patrick Ness |Maryjean Riou

Gr 3-7–Shortly after being assigned the jobs of hall monitors, lizard Zeke and his lizard friends, Daniel and Alicia, get into a tussle with bird school bully Pelicarnassus. Hilarity and sincerity ensue as Pelicarnassus seeks revenge and Zeke scrambles to protect his home, friends, and school from the bully’s supervillainous aspirations. And school isn’t the only place that provides Zeke with obstacles.

Sep 1, 2023 | slj.com | Maryjean Riou |silvia lopez

Gr 4-8–Maya Montenegro Calderon lives in Brooklyn with her large Puerto Rican family. At 13, she spends all her time at school, playing soccer, or helping out at the family restaurant, Cafe Taza. Recently, Maya has been plagued by curious dreams and questions that her family refuses to answer until she is older. Then her mysterious Titi Yaya arrives on the Cafe Taza doorstep, and Maya’s world is rocked and the strangeness in her life becomes even more frequent.

Aug 29, 2023 | schoollibraryjournal.com | Maryjean Riou

Gr 9 Up–Kendi’s antiracism opus receives a pointedly visual adaptation from Gill (Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence). Since the beginning of America, there have been racist, assimilationist, and antiracist ideas, and people who spoke for or against them. The evolution of these ideas is seen through the lens of five historical figures: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. DuBois, and Angela Davis.