· Together We Drum, Our Hearts Beat as One is an empowering Indigenous children's book that will inspire young girls especially. The protagonist is a young Indigenous girl on a journey through a forest who meets and tries to evade a "monster" in her midst, only to be saved by a giant thunderbird and a group of girls and women wearing red dresses, beating their drums in support. · Author Willie Poll is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario. She was inspired to write this book based on ten years of work in Indigenous education, and her desire to support Indigenous youth, especially women and girls. She also works for an organization (The Moose Hide Campaign) which aims to end gender-based violence to Indigenous people. In the book, the red dresses are a symbol of the MMIWG (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls), a prominent campaign in Canada to bring awareness to their plight. This symbolism in the book exists for those who are old enough to know about it; for children, it can be a subject for discussion but doesn't need to be. · In Willie's own words: "My story was written after spending 10 years working in Indigenous education and seeing the additional hardships that Indigenous women and girls face in their lifetimes.

I wanted to write something that inspired children to connect to their culture and to know that racism and hate are monsters in their life but that they can thrive." · The vivid illustrations are by Chief Lady Bird, a well known Indigenous artist in Canada. She illustrated Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenesco, published in the US by Lee & Low Books in the fall of 2021.