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The Red Pencil

Contributors

By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Read by Shane W. Evans

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Format

“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 NyalaAmira’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 mindand 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.

  • Praise for Andrea Davis Pinkney's Bird In A Box:
    A Today show Al's Book Club for Kids pick!

    * "The artfully orchestrated novel is related with grace, restraint and a wealth of historical detail."
    Kirkus Reviews, starred review
  • "Bird in a Box will break, heal, and then fill your heart, all in one reading."
    Grace Lin, Newbery Honor author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
  • Praise for Shane Evans' Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom:
    "The author's collaged nocturnal paintings shimmer with an arresting luminescence.... When the travelers at last lift a newborn baby to the rising sun, readers celebrate along with the protagonists."
    School Library Journal

On Sale
Sep 16, 2014
Publisher
Hachette Audio
ISBN-13
9781478955665

Andrea Davis Pinkney

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of nearly 50 books for children and young adults, including The Red Pencil and Bird in a BoxShe has also produced several collaborations with her husband two-time Caldecott Honor-winning artist Brian Pinkney, including Sit -In, Martin & Mahalia, and Hand in Hand, winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Ms. Pinkney has been recognized by Children’s Health magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential People in our Children’s Lives,” and has been inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Daniel Minter has illustrated over a dozen children’s books, including Going Down Home with Daddy which won a 2020 Caldecott Honor and Ellen’s Broom which won a Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor. He is known for his work in the mediums of painting and assemblage. He lives in Portland, Maine.

Learn more about this author