Jenneli's Dance
by Elizabeth Denny & Chris Auchter
Description:
Publisher's description (Theytus Books):
Jenneli is a young girl who feels that she is nothing special until she learns about the Métis Red River Jig from Grandma Lucee. One day Grandma Lucee enters Jenneli into the jigging contest, and Jenneli is both horrified and excited. With Grandma Lucee's love and support, Jenneli places her doubts and fears aside to dance in the contest.
Author and Illustrator Biographies (Strong Nations):
Elizabeth Denny is a Métis writer who grew up in the small town of St. Laurent in the Interlake Region of Manitoba. She has been writing for several years within many genres. Her poetry and short stories have been published in various journals, and she has written scripts for the APTN children's series Wapos Bay and Tipi Tales. Jenneli's Dance is her first children's book. Elizabeth lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Christopher John Michael Auchter is a Haida animator and illustrator, born and raised on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. He moved to Victoria in 1997 and Vancouver in 1998 to attend the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Chris received his bachelor of media arts with a major in animation and later graduated with honours from Sheridan College where he studied computer animation. Chris has illustrated and animated APTN children's programs, and he has worked in the gaming industry for Electronic Arts (EA) and Next Level. Using charcoal, Chris completed an animated film for the National Film Board of Canada entitled How People Got Fire. Chris resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Resource format: Picturebook
Age recommendation: Grade 1 - 6
Keywords: young Métis girl, Red River Jig, bravery, courage, fear, sharing cultures, bullying, Métis, Red River Jig, Overcoming Social Fears, fiddle, looking different, bagpipes, shy, contest, show and tell, fair, grandma, learning from grandparents, overcoming challenges, jigging contest, perseverance, self-esteem, healing and wellness, customs and traditions, history, jig origin story
Year of publication: 2008
Publisher information: Theytus Books
Teaching and Learning Ideas
Our team collaborated with new teachers, alumni of the Werklund School of Education’s Bachelor of Education program, to create teaching and learning plans for texts in this website. With audiences ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary, lesson plans across this resource address a wide range of school subject areas, inclusive approaches, and Indigenous education topics, such as the revitalization of Indigenous languages. As this website was designed with Undergraduate Programs in Education instructors, as well as teachers in mind, connections to UPE courses have been flagged on each lesson plan. These lessons are intended as a starting place for educators, to help you envision ways in which you might bring Indigenous literatures, as well as ways of knowing, being, and doing, into your teaching contexts. Please adapt, use, and share these lessons in ways that are generative for your teaching practice. We offer our sincere thanks to the dozens of new teachers who gifted us with these creative ideas!
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