The Red Pencil

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

★ "Amira's thoughts and drawings are vividly brought to life through Pinkney's lyrical verse and Evans's lucid line illustrations, which infuse the narrative with emotional intensity.... An essential purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

The powerful story of one girl's triumphant journey, inspired by true tales of life in Sudan, written by a New York Times bestselling and award winning author
 
"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316247825
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	128,614
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of more than 20 books for children, including Bird in a Box and several collaborations with her husband Brian Pinkney, including Sit -In, Hand in Hand,and Martin & Mahalia. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY.

Shane W. Evans is the illustrator of many books for young readers, including Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, which won a Coretta Scott King award, and Nobody Gonna Turn Me Round, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. His website is ShaneEvans.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Red Pencil:

* "Pinkney faces war's horrors head on, yet also conveys a sense of hope and promise."

—Publishers Weekly

* "Pinkney uses deft strokes to create engaging characters through the poetry of their observations and the poignancy of their circumstances... A soulful story that captures the magic of possibility, even in difficult times."—Kirkus Reviews

* "Amira's thoughts and drawings are vividly brought to life through Pinkney's lyrical verse and Evans's lucid line illustrations, which infuse the narrative with emotional intensity.... An essential purchase."
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Pinkney's spare verse powerfully communicates this strong young girl's hopes and dreams even as she expresses the awfulness of what she has been through: "Words, / liked tugged teeth. / Yanked / from every part of me." Scattered through the elegantly designed book are Shane W. Evans's soft gray illustrations, perfectly supporting Pinkney's text, evoking the sense that they were done by Amira herself.

The New York Times Book Review - Monica Edinger

★ 08/04/2014
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. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Bird in a Box will break, heal, and then fill your heart, all in one reading."

Grace Lin

Pinkney performs her novel in free verse, which features Amira, a girl listeners meet when she’s living a happy life with her family in the South Darfur region of Sudan. Pinkney narrates with a gravity appropriate to poetry and Amira’s changing circumstances when Janjaweed militants destroy her home and force what remains of her family to flee. Pinkney also infuses notes of warmth and humor throughout the story, reflecting the love that surrounds Amira as well as her hopeful nature. Even as she grieves and tries to adjust to a radically altered life, Amira never stops drawing, learning, and working toward a better future. A.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2014 - AudioFile

Pinkney performs her novel in free verse, which features Amira, a girl listeners meet when she’s living a happy life with her family in the South Darfur region of Sudan. Pinkney narrates with a gravity appropriate to poetry and Amira’s changing circumstances when Janjaweed militants destroy her home and force what remains of her family to flee. Pinkney also infuses notes of warmth and humor throughout the story, reflecting the love that surrounds Amira as well as her hopeful nature. Even as she grieves and tries to adjust to a radically altered life, Amira never stops drawing, learning, and working toward a better future. A.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2014 - AudioFile

★ 2014-07-22
A 12-year-old Sudanese girl struggles for survival after a janjaweed attack on her town forces her family to seek safety in an overcrowded refugee camp. Amira Bright has a dream: to leave her South Darfur farm and attend Gad Primary School, where girls are accepted. Muma, her mother, is a traditionalist about girls' roles, while Dando, her father, and Old Anwar, a lifelong neighbor, are more supportive. Dando and Amira even have a favorite game called "What Else is Possible?" But when militia attackers suddenly upend her life, Amira is overcome with silent heartache. Relief comes when an aid worker at Kalma refugee camp offers her a yellow pad and a red pencil, eventually restoring her free expression. Telling her story in first-person verse, Pinkney uses deft strokes to create engaging characters through the poetry of their observations and the poignancy of their circumstances. This tale of displacement in a complex, war-torn country is both accessible and fluent, striking just the right tone for middle-grade readers. Evans' elemental drawings illuminate the spirit and yearnings of Amira, the earnest protagonist. A soulful story that captures the magic of possibility, even in difficult times. (author's note, illustrator's note, glossary) (Verse fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews