The Red Pencil
Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrator: Shane W. Evans
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Year of Publication: 2014
Print Length: 368 pages
Genre: Children’s Book, Historical Fiction, Education, Cultural, Young Adults, Poetry
Area: Northeast Africa, Sudan, Kalma Refugee Camp
Topic: Camps, Hope, Refugee & Forced Migration, Internally Displaced Person (IDP), War, Cultural Heritage / Legacy, Culture & Society, Children & Childhood, Resilience, Youth & Youthhood
“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.
Table of Contents
Sudan, South Sudan, and the Surrounding Countries Map
Part One: Our Farm — South Darfur, Africa, September 2003 – March 2004
Wheat / Dando’s Delight / Lost Tooth / Dizzy Donkey / Opportunity / School / Pinched / The Wager / Fruitless / Contest / War / As I See It / Chores / Birth Story / Heartbeat / Okra / Twig / Ditty / Waking the Moon / Glowing Sayidda / Leila / Our Bent Baby / Double Joy /
Gamal / Goal / Traditional Hut / Chasing the Wind / Goz / Drawing / Hand, Twig, Sparrow / The Janjaweed / Fright / Possibilities / Lines / Agreeing / Seeing the Same Sun / Broken-Bottle Dolly / Toy Battles / Eyes / Dots / Waking, Walking, Water / Family Pictures / Eternity /
Melon Belly / The Haboob / Demon! / Worry / Dust Wall / Bleat—Relief! / Afterward / Dando’s Confession / Lizard / Apology / Nali’s Gift / Flitter / Sand Sheep / Peek-and-Prance / Dawn / Sudden Gust / Hammering / Happening? / Shock / Together / Calling / Nowhere / Fleeing /
Ashes / Soles / Forward / Footprints / Hungry / Stubborn / No Moon / Cursed / Misery / Queasy / Dazed / Quick-Stream / Displaced
Part Two: Kalma — April 2004 – June 2004
Scraps / Disbelief / Vanishing / Mourning / Rubber Twigs / Silence / Crowded Kalma / Echo / Locked / The Water Giver / The Flicker Box / Stuck / Flowers / Blowing Smoke / Nonstop / Moon-Time Errors / Unwelcome / Gamal’s Grief / Tantrum / Want / Knowing / The Red Pencil
Parting Glance / Straight and Shiny / Blocked / Old Anwar’s Lament / Wife / Inside the Flicker’s Box / Stirring A Pot / Needle Noses / Sesame Oil / Questions / New-Neighbor / Withering / Sad-Quiet / Fences / No Blue Boundaries / Awakened / Drenched / Listening /
Freeing Muma / Release / Healing / Could It Be? / Roar! / Erase / Sweet Invitation / To… / My A / Mathematics / Funny Bugs / Favorite / Population / Butterflies / CNN / Surprise / Bushy Bundle / The Future / Mine / Soup-Can Soccer / Brushing Dust / Handlebar Happy! /
Red-Eyed Robber / New Family Pictures / Love / Guzzling / Fanta Flute / Halima, Profile / I Wish / Leap / Anthill / Envy / Tug-of-War / Opinions / Muma Blooming / Talking to Sayidda Moon / Possibilities / Directions / Sudanese Flowers, Reborn / Bursting / I Am / Up, Up, Me /
Thirst Returns / Fly or Die / Nightmare / Dumb Donkey / Looming / CNN Daydream / Promises / Sister-to-Sister / Good-bye Gifts / Now / Itchy Doubt / Dando Bright! / Pray, Wait / Hedgehog Escape / Quickened / The Truth / We / Flight
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Glossary / Pronunciation Guide
Character / Location Pronunciations
Important Terms That Appeared in This Book
Discussion Guide
Excerpt of Bird in the Box
Andrea Davis Pinkney is the distinguished and bestselling author of many books for children and young adults, including picture books, novels, and non-fiction. Her books have received multiple Coretta Scott King Book Awards, Jane Addams Honor citations, nominations for the NAACP Image Awards, the Boston Globe/Horn book Honor medal, and many other accolades. In recognition of her significant contributions to literature for young people through her body of work, she was selected to deliver the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture.
Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/144047/andrea-davis-pinkney/
More from Andrea Davis Pinkney in this library, click here.
Shane W. Evans has created pictures for over 50 books for children, including Why?, Mixed Me!, and My Friend! He has worked with authors including Shaquille O’Neal, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Holly Robinson Peete. His awards and honors include Jane Addams Honor Book awards for Lillian’s Right to Vote and We March; and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, all of which he wrote and illustrated. Shane also received an NAACP Image Award for his collaborative work with the Peete family on My Brother Charlie.
Source: https://us.macmillan.com/author/shanewevans
More from Shane W. Evans in this library, click here.