Description

Maggie Lou’s grandpa doesn’t call her Firefox for nothing. She’s always finding ways to make life more interesting — even if this means getting into big trouble. 

When her grandfather Moshôm finally agrees to teach her how to box, she decides that the rank odors, endless drills and teasing won’t stop her from wearing a tutu to the gym. Joining her father’s construction crew uncovers a surprising talent — besides learning how to use a broom — and a great source of scrap wood to build a canine hotel for her dogs. And when she turns thirteen, she figures out an ingenious way to make some smokin’ good camouflage to wear on her first deer hunt, where she joins a long family tradition. 

Through it all she is surrounded by her big extended gumbo soup of a family, pestered by annoying younger siblings, and gently guided by her strong female relatives – her mother, her kohkom and her ultra-cool cousin Jayda. “Keep taking up space,” Maggie’s mother says. “You’re only making room for the girls behind you.” 

A heroine for today, Maggie Lou discovers that with hard work and perseverance she can gain valuable new skills, without losing one iota of her irrepressible spirit.


Key Text Features

author’s note

biographical note

chapters

dialogue

epigraph

illustrations

About the author(s)

ARNOLDA DUFOUR BOWES is a Saskatchewan Métis writer, artist, emerging playwright and screenwriter with ties to Sakitawak (Île à la Crosse) and George Gordon First Nation. Always seeking adventure, she has lived around the world, from New Zealand to Saudi Arabia, and has competed in various sports. Arnolda won second place in the Oilsands Classic Strongwoman Competition in Fort McMurray in 2025. She is the author of 20.12 m: A Short Story Collection of a Life Lived as a Road Allowance Métis, which won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the High Plains Book Award. She is the mother of three amazing adult children and lives in Saskatoon.

KARLENE HARVEY (she/they) is an illustrator and writer who lives on the unceded and ancestral home territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. Karlene is Tšilhqot’in and Syilx and grew up on territories of the Semiahmoo and Kwantlen Nations. They have illustrated several children’s books, including Maggie Lou, Firefox by Arnolda Dufour Bowes, Drum From the Heart by Ren Louie, Every Child Matters by Phyllis Webstad and Kaiah’s Garden by Melanie Florence.

Reviews

“An amusing story showcasing Métis humor at its finest. STARRED REVEIW” — Kirkus

“A funny, lovingly crafted book, with a rich cast of characters that is enhanced by artist Karlene Harvey's comic-like illustrations … The humour in Maggie Lou, Firefox will pull young readers in, and the warm heart of the stories will keep them reading.” — Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW

“Maggie Lou's connection to her immediate and extended family, her awareness of her Native roots and the Northern Michif language … and her interests, which are not constrained by gender norms, give these tales a distinctive and refreshing flavor.” — Horn Book

“Funny, upbeat … Maggie Lou approaches life with a can-do attitude, confidence, and a helping of sass.” — Shelf Awareness

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