Maxine Trottier is a prolific writer of children's picture books. Her Métis roots reach back to Fort Detroit in the mid 18th century. She was born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on May 3, 1950. She moved to Windsor, Ontario in Canada with her family ten years later. In 1974 she became a Canadian citizen; she does hold U.S. citizenship as well. She attended several years of school at Ardmore Elementary in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, but her education was completed in Canada. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario.

Maxine is also an educator. She has spent 29 years in elementary classrooms, guiding children toward literacy. She currently teaches grade two at M. B. McEachren in Lambeth, Ontario, for the Thames Valley District Board of Education. The children in her class, who of course think of her only as their teacher, see every step in the creation of each new book. They hear the unillustrated story, see the roughs and are the first to view the finished book.

On May 25, 1993, Maxine returned to Ardmore Elementary, her first school, to speak as a visiting author. She expected to spend the day reading and presenting. Instead, she learned that through a house resolution, the Michigan State Legislature had declared the day to be "Maxine Trottier Day" to honour her work as a writer and an educator. What she assumed was to be an author visit to the school turned out to be wonderful celebration. The proclamation hangs in her studio.

Maxine lives in a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Erie with her husband William and with their two Yorkies, Ceilidh and little Moon. They spend summers aboard their sloop Windseeker1 where Maxine continues to write.