JENNIFER DANCE Writing books that support school curricula
RED WOLF
RED WOLF
RED WOLF
Life is changing for Canada’s Anishnaabek Nation and for the wolf packs who share their territory.
Topics covered
- The Indian Act
- Colonialism
- Residential schools
- Timber wolves
- TEACHER GUIDE AVAILABLE
PAINT
RED WOLF
RED WOLF
Settlers are moving west across the Great Plains of North America. Told through the perspective of a mustang, this book is called "The Black Beauty of America!"
Topics covered
- Destruction of the grasslands leading to the Dust Bowl
- Annihilation of the buffalo and the people who depended on them
- Pioneer life in Canada
HAWK
RED WOLF
HAWK
When a First Nations teen rescues a fish hawk from a tailings pond in Alberta’s oil sands, he has no idea that soon they will both be fighting for their lives
Topics covered
- The enduring effects of the Indian residential school system.
- The environmental and social damage caused by the Oil Sands industry
- TEACHER GUIDE AVAILABLE
Adult Fiction inspired by Jennifer's life story
GONE BUT STILL HERE
A fictionalized memoir of a family's journey with Alzheimer's disease
Coming soon
DANDELIONS IN THE WIND
AUDIO THEATRE
An Anti-Racism Program
adapted from Jennifer's Broadway-style stage show
Offered in the COVID-friendly medium of audio broadcast yet wrapped in the unique cultural experience of world-class theatre, this socially relevant program will more than fill your curriculum requirements for Black History month as well as provide a year-round tool in Social Studies, History, Music and Drama, Anti-racism Teaching, and Current Affairs. Most importantly it will inspire students to stand up for justice and equality.
About Jennifer Dance
Jennifer's life has demonstrated her passion for justice and racial equality. She has experienced first-hand where racism can lead.
"You may look at my photo and wonder what I could possibly know about racism. In 1966, when I was 17, I met a Black engineering student who would become my husband and the father of our three biracial children. Looking back, the racism we experienced made me more sensitive to the pain of others. It has driven my creativity."
Jennifer's musical, DANDELIONS IN THE WIND, inspired by her own tumultuous life has been staged in both England and Canada. She is currently working to bring it to schools as part of their anti-racism teaching.
The three books of her White Feather Collection - RED WOLF, PAINT and HAWK address the issue of racism, both past and present, against Indigenous people in North America. These novels are fiction, but they present the truth in a way that creates compassion and understanding, joining the dots between the colonial policies of the past and the rift of mistrust that still exists. They open the door to reconciliation.
GONE BUT STILL HERE is Jennifer's first adult novel ... a fictionalized memoir in which she tells her personal biracial love story through the perspective of Alzheimer's disease. Her ability to do this comes from her experience as caregiver to her second partner.
In 2016, Jennifer was awarded the Ontario Achievement Award, for making a significant contribution through her writing and presentations in the schools and community. Jennifer was also honoured to be nominated as a Woman of Excellence in the J.S. Woodsworth Awards for
Human Rights and Equity. And is the recipient of a prestigious Creative Writing grant from the Canada Council of the Arts.
Jennifer in the schools and community
Jennifer is available for a limited number of SCHOOL presentations
A warm welcome from William G. Davis Public School
Jennifer's books in the lesson plan
Students run an inter-school marketing campaign for HAWK. They placed third!
A well- worn school library book!
Grade 8 students script their own play and perform it complete with programs and scenery
On TV discussing Red Wolf with students, hosted by the Junior Economic Club of Canada.
Speaking at INSPIRE, the Toronto International Book Fair
JUDGE Jennifer with the finalists of the Young People's Short Story competition, sponsored by the Canadian Federation of University Women
Forest of Reading: the closest thing an author gets to being a rock star!
Forest of Reading: Harbourfront, Toronto
Book signing
6,000 book-lovers in attendance at Toronto's Harbourfront.
Receiving the Ontario Achievement award from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario : The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell Queen's Park, 2016
"Essential Reading for Every Canadian" - Indigo
MY NAME IN LIGHTS!
At SilverCity Cinemas in Thunder Bay
PODCAST - I Value Canadian Stories
Highlighting the work, the creative habits and unique perspectives
of Canadian author, Jennifer Dance.