Lillian & Kokomis: The Spirit of Dance

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By Lynda Partridge,  Illustrated by Dave Nicholson, Foreword by Chief Stacey Laforme

Will Lillian find a spirit of belonging? If so, WHERE and HOW?

Lillian is a girl of mixed Indigenous and white ancestry who is in the process of being shuffled to her seventh foster home. At school, she doesn’t fit in with the white kids and she doesn’t fit in with the Indigenous kids either. Lillian is a complex and not-always-lovable hero but she eventually finds a sense of peace and belonging from a surprising spirit that returns her to traditional ways.Lillian & Kokomis: The Spirit of Dance is the second book in the UpRoute Indigenous ‘Spirit of Nature’ series. Written by Sixties Scoop voice Lynda Partridge, Lillian & Kokomis speaks to issues of Indigenous reconciliation, foster homes and residential schools, language and legends, and Indigenous ways of knowledge.

Nominated for Best Children's and Young Adult title, BPAA Awards 2020.

Keywords: Indigenous, First Nations, Canada, Pow Wow, Dancing, Reconciliation

What they say

“I love this book. I think everyone, not just children, should read it. With gentle empathy and joyous hope, Lynda Partridge paints the heartbreaking realities lived by far too many young people, while simultaneously generating optimism. She describes what is possible when we provide opportunities for generations to heal and lead us forward. The possibilities are both tremendous and endless.”

—­SENATOR KIM PATE, Senate of Canada


“This story is from the spirit and is a message for all of our First Nations relatives that it is now time to rise up and take this responsibility back to being natural helpers, and to nurture our children who are struggling.”

— ROBIN DECONTIE Director, Kitigan Zibi Health and Social Services

Info about the book

UPROUTE Imprint of Durvile Publications


JUV030090 Juvenile Canada / Indigenous
5.5” x 8.5” | 96 pages
Book Two in the “Spirit of Nature” Series
ISBN: 9781988824277 | $17.95 Canada, $14.95 US
E-book and audiobook versions also available
Book release date: March 21, 2019

Individuals: Ask your bookseller or buy online.
Booksellers: Order through University of Toronto (UTP) 

Download the cover 

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