I was born in Queens, New York. When I was a child my parents allowed me to write on one wall of my bedroom. It was in this space that I published, in words and pictures, my first stories and launched my writing self.
However, I have lived most of my adult life, after becoming a Canadian citizen, in rural Nova Scotia. Here, I have watched foxes steal pears from beneath the trees in my back yard, listened to red-tailed hawks argue over a recently caught meal, smelled the arrival of a family of skunks, and tasted the wild blackberries that grow in the fields and by the roadside.
I appreciate and respect the beauty of nature in all its forms and all its moments. I am a strong advocate for equity and social justice and work to further environmental and peace education in schools. I share this through my teaching, writing and poetry.
I have authored many professional books and articles for teachers in addition to an award-winning video series. I have also authored a book of poetry for children: Pass the Poems Please, WildThings Press and three picture books: Somewhere (1996), Touch the Earth (1999), and If Peace Is…(2003), (Mondo Publishing, New York) and a novel for children (8-12yrs), Together in Time. Several of my poems have been featured in anthologies and reading series.
I have been President of the Nova Scotia Reading Association and Nova Scotia’s Provincial Coordinator for the International Reading Association. I am a member of CELT, The Centre for the Expansion of Language and Thinking, the Whole Language Umbrella and am the Regional Counsellor East for IBBY Canada (International Board of Books for Young People). I have been a Featured Speaker and workshop leader at numerous educational conferences. I am a former teacher and principal and am currently on the Education Faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax.
I am a six-time recipient of the Education Quality Award from the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union and I received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Educational Press Association of America for my series of articles in Teaching K-8 Magazine.
I live with my husband, Steve, and our pack of Great Danes, in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia.
Selected Publications
In addition to Jane’s picture books, the following is a list of selected publications for teachers:
Books
Baskwill, J. (2013) Attention Grabbing Tools for Involving Parents in Their Children's Learning, Pembroke
Baskwill, J. (2010). Books as bridges: Using text to connect home and school literacy
and learning, Pembroke
Baskwill, J. (2009). Getting dads on board: Fostering literacy partnerships for successful
student learning, Pembroke
Church, S., Baskwill, J. & Swain, M. (2007). Yes, but…if they like it they’ll learn it!,
Pembroke.
For a more complete list of publications see my Curriculum Vitae
