Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden are partners in both writing and life. They have worked together since 1993 and are the founders of the Living Traditions Writers Group, which encourages writing within First Nations communities. When the Spirits Dance, the second book in the Lawrence series, recounts the dramatic changes to a First Nation’s boy’s life when his father is sent overseas. The Gathering Tree is an illustrated story of a First Nations family facing the issue of HIV. In 2003, Loyie won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction for his first children’s book, As Long as the Rivers Flow. Brissenden is a noted magazine writer and author of fourteen books of travel and history.

Photo: www.firsnationswriter.com

When the Spirits Dance is the story of Lawrence Loyie and his family growing up on Rabbit Hill. Lawrence and his siblings keep busy helping their parents and sharing in the day-to-day activities of life in the forest. One faithful day, a letter arrives in the mail. Lawrence’s father has been called into service to the Canadian Armed Forces to fight in England during the Second World War. With his father gone, Lawrence and his family manage as best they can – with a little help from his grandparents. Learn about Cree culture and life in Canada during wartime.