• Age: 6 to 8
• Grade: 1 to 3
• Reading age: 6 to 8

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.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Elizabeth Denny </span> 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: <span style="font-style: italic;">Wapos Bay </span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Tipi Tales</span>. <a href="/Books/J/Jenneli-s-Dance" target="_self">Jenneli's Dance</a> is her first children's book. Elizabeth currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Elizabeth Denny's profile page

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.

Christopher Auchter's profile page

Jenneli’s Dance

Contemporary Métis culture and a young girl’s self-esteem issues are explored in this unique illustrated picture book. Jenneli feels she is “nothing special” and as a Métis, looks different than the others. She takes bannock bread for lunch and loves dancing to fiddle music. Her beloved Grandma Lucee, however, instills pride in their heritage and teaches her grandchildren to jig to the traditional Métis fiddle tune, The Red River Jig. When she enters her granddaughter in a children’s jig contest at the local fair, Jenneli overcomes her fears and learns that being Métis makes her feel there is “something special” about her. Lively, full-page illustrations enhance the text. The addition of the historical significance of the Red River Jig in Métis tradition will deepen appreciation of the story.

This book was a 2009 Canadian Association of Children’s Librarians Honour Book for Illustration. The Haida illustrator, Auchter, is also an animator. Denny is a Métis author.

Jenneli’s Dance

Contemporary Métis culture and a young girl’s self-esteem issues are explored in this unique illustrated picture book. Jenneli feels she is “nothing special” and as a Métis, looks different than the others. She takes bannock bread for lunch and loves dancing to fiddle music. Her beloved Grandma Lucee, however, instills pride in their heritage and teaches her grandchildren to jig to the traditional Métis fiddle tune, The Red River Jig. When she enters her granddaughter in a children’s jig contest at the local fair, Jenneli overcomes her fears and learns that being Métis makes her feel there is “something special” about her. Lively, full-page illustrations enhance the text. The addition of the historical significance of the Red River Jig in Métis tradition will deepen appreciation of the story.

This book was a 2009 Canadian Association of Children’s Librarians Honour Book for Illustration. The Haida illustrator, Auchter, is also an animator. Denny is a Métis author.