Saturday, January 10, 2015

The Red Pencil

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, 308 pages


This novel, told in verse, is the story of Amira, a little girl growing up in Southern Darfur.  She dreams of being able to go to school but her mother is against it.  Her father believes that she is capable but won’t go against her mother’s wishes.  Except for this one wish, Amira is actually pretty happy, until the day the Janjaweed come and destroy their village.  Amira and her family are forced to go to a displaced persons camp in Sudan where Amira loses her voice.  This story is a very powerful one about a very real issue that is happening today.  Because the Amira in the story is also an artist the book is filled with drawings that are supposed to be hers.  This is a well done, compelling story that a lot of kids would enjoy reading.

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