Maya's Big Scene

Maya's imagination sets the stage for her friends to act out her feminist play. Can she make room in her queendom for the will of the people? A funny picture book about leadership and fair play for fans of King Baby and Olivia.

Maya is a bossy, burgeoning playwright and loves to have the kids in her Mile End neighborhood bring her scenes to life. Her latest work, about a feminist revolution, is almost ready for public performance. But as her actors begin to express their costume preferences, Maya quickly learns that their visions may not match hers . . . and as both Director and Queen, Maya demands obedience and loyalty in her queendom of equality! But she soon realizes -- with the help of her friends and subjects -- that absolute bossiness corrupts absolutely!

ISABELLE ARSENAULT is a Montreal illustrator whose passion for illustrated books has earned her an impressive number of awards and distinctions, including three Governor General's Literary Awards for Children's Literature and a Joe Shuster Award for Outsanding Artist. She received the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2017 and was Canada's illustrator nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018 and 2020. Three of her picture books have been named New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year. She received a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the Université du Québec à Montréal.