Leaving Lilyland

About the Book

Lacy has spent her life in Lilyland. She knows she is different, but dreams about feeling truly accepted. Does she really have to look like everyone else in order to be part of the crowd? Join Lacy on a life-changing adventure. A children´s book touching on the difficulties minority children have growing up in predominantly white school districts.

About the Author

Author Biography Kelli Dean has taught high school special education classes for 9 years in a first ring suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. Seeing the demographics change from less than 1% minority to an over 25% minority population in a nine year period has prompted a heightened awareness of the issues minority children must face in predominantly white school districts. This book was written with her minority students in mind. She currently lives in Woodbury, Minnesota with her husband, Russ, and four children: Brennan, 12, Zack, 8, Cody, 4, and Schuyler, 2. About the Artist Mykaelah Rowlison is a sixth grade student from the Twin Cities area. As witnessed firsthand by the author, her talents as a sculptor and artist have been apparent for as long as she could hold a pencil. Her baby sister, Lily, was all the inspiration she needed to develop the characters and layout for Leaving Lilyland. Her mom and dad have been a fabulous support system and have encouraged her artistic development during the entire process.