Ambitious Métis girl an inspiring delight

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This article was published 21/10/2023 (1076 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Métis writer Arnolda Dufour Bowes has introduced a delightful new heroine in her mid-grade novel Maggie Lou, Firefox (Groundwood, 220 pages, $15, paperback) illustrated by Karlene Harvey.

Maggie is irrepressible, brimming with ideas, energy and ambition. In her close Métis family she tackles numerous projects and succeeds at them all.

Maggie finds becoming a boxer means she must spend months doing menial tasks before her Moshôm (grandfather) allows her to step into the ring. Becoming a carpenter means similar weeks of preparation, but Maggie works hard and never loses her good humour. Whether she is using scrap lumber to build a doghouse or attempting a super slide down to her launching pad, she’s full of fun and ideas. Many young readers will chuckle with her exploits and see Maggie as a role model.

Dufour Bowes has family ties to Sakitawak First Nation and has travelled widely. She lives in Saskatchewan and has won the High Plains Book Award. For ages 9-12.

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Marie-Louise Gay has amused and enthralled children for over 20 years. With her Stella series (including Stella: Star of the Sea), or books featuring Stella’s younger brother Sam (Good Morning, Sam), she has amassed many followers. Her latest picture book, Hopscotch (Groundwood, 40 pages, $20, hardcover) mirrors her own ambulatory childhood (her family moved 10 times before she was 12).

In Hopscotch, a child has to leave a familiar home and a beloved dog to adjust to a new house, a new school and a new language. How can she find a place in this strange universe? A giant game of hopscotch helps solve the problem. Aimed at ages 3-6.

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Hockey enthusiasts (and other sports fans) will especially enjoy Vancouver author Shari Green’s Game Face (Groundwood, 376 pages, $18, trade paperback).

When Jonah’s best friend Ty suffers a critical injury during a game, Jonah feels guilty he’s still able to play. It doesn’t help that he experiences panic attacks when under stress.

Written in free verse that is both varied and effective, Game Face is an easy-to-read story that will resonate with any young person who has faced a personal challenge and overcome it with courage and determination. Jonah not only has to take charge of his own life, but help his father overcome his fears as well.

Other mid-level novels by Green include Root Beer Candy and other Miracles and Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess. For ages 9-12.

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Freddie Carmichael was the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. In Freddie the Flyer (Tundra, 32 pages, $24, hardcover), Carmichael and Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail tell his remarkable story.

Written like a calendar, with highlights for each month, the names of the months are written in both Gwich’in and Inuvialuktun.

This picture book is also remarkable for its full-page acrylic on canvas paintings by Audrea Loreen-Wulf. For ages 6-9. Publishes Tuesday, Oct. 24.

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Halifax author Susan Vande Griek gives us a delightful collection of poetry in The Animals Come Out (Groundwood, 24 pages, $19, hardcover).

What would happen if all the people stayed inside? Would the animals take over our towns and cities? That’s the theme of these amusing poems.

“Out from the woods / trail the timid deer” — we watch as these, and other creatures, emerge. Early readers will enjoy guessing which of the forest folk will appear next.

Vande Griek is a former resident of St. Andrews, N.B., and has also written Hawks Kettle, Puffins Wheel: And Other Poems of Birds in Flight.

Montreal artist Josée Bisaillon has contributed a wealth of forest-tinted pictures in collage, watercolour and pastel to add to this picture book’s appeal. For ages 3-6.

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Helen Norrie is a Winnipeg writer who likes seeing deer who wander into our city.