The Red Pencil
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4.2 • 17 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
"Amira, look at me," Muma insists.She collects both my hands in hers."The Janjaweed attack without warning.If ever they come-- run."
Finally, Amira is twelve. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in Nyala-- Amira's one true dream.
But life in her peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when the Janjaweed arrive. The terrifying attackers ravage the town and unleash unspeakable horrors. After she loses nearly everything, Amira needs to dig deep within herself to find the strength to make the long journey-- on foot-- to safety at a refugee camp. Her days are tough at the camp, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind-- and all kinds of possibilities.
New York Times bestselling and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney's powerful verse and Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist Shane W. Evans's breathtaking illustrations combine to tell an inspiring tale of one girl's triumph against all odds.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Told in free verse and set in the South Darfur region of Sudan in 2003 and 2004, this potent novel from Pinkney (Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America) is built around the distinctive voice and drawings of 12-year-old narrator Amira. The first half of the novel examines Amira's life in her rural village, where she helps out with farm chores, wishes she could attend school, and has a close relationship with her father, Dando, who "sees what is possible in me." After Janjaweed militants invade, inflicting great loss, Amira flees to a refugee camp, where she expresses her creativity through art, after a teacher gives her the pencil of the title. Evans's (We March) loosely drawn and deeply affecting line illustrations heighten Amira's emotional reality; in one image, accompanying the poem "Shock," a simple figure surrounded by a violently scribbled border demonstrates Amira's despair: "My whole heart./ A sudden break./ My Bright,/ turned black." Pinkney faces war's horrors head on, yet also conveys a sense of hope and promise. Ages 9 up.
Customer Reviews
Amazing, sad, and beautiful
This book is beautiful and powerful. I recommend for ages 9-14
Red Pencil Lover
I'm only reading this because my band director has a red pencil that is his pride and joy.