#theredpencil

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The Red Pencil

Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney

Illustrator: Shane W. Evans

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Date: 2014

Genre: Multicultural Chapter Book

           The Red Pencil is the story of Amira, a 12 year old girl growing up in South Darfur, Africa. Her mother has plans for Amira, forbidding her from learning to read and write and telling her that her purpose is to work and become a good wife and mother. However, Amira has bigger dreams of going to school and learning to read and write. When the Janjaweed militia storm her village, killing her father, Amira and her family are forced to flee and start a new life in a refugee camp. She receives a gift, a red pencil that she cherishes and so begins her journey of learning, exploring, and following her dreams.

Thoughts and Reflection:

           I had never read a book before that was written in verse and initially I was not sure how I was going to like it. I thought the story was going to be hard to follow and the poems confusing to understand. However, I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book. The story grabbed me right from the start. I enjoyed the style in which this story was written, in verse. Each poem was engaging and made me want to keep reading.  I wanted so badly for Amira to be the person she wanted to be and get the education she deserved. I have many strong opinions on the idea that Amira had one purpose to work and become a wife and mother. I felt that Amira’s mother needed to have a more open mind to her daughter wanting to become educated and she should be open to showing her that there is more to life, that she can be anything she wants to be.  

Classroom Application:

           A great way in which The Red Pencil can be used in the classroom is for a social studies unit on the Middle East. Students can use the great maps provided in the book to follow Amira and her family’s journey from South Darfur to the refugee camp. They can research information on South Darfur and the Janjaweed militia attack. Students can complete a research report, making text to world connections on the real life event that affected so many lives.  

           This story can also be used as an activity for The Day of the Girl. This book shows the strong will of women and how they have to overcome stereotypes to become powerful educated people in society. Students can use examples from this story to show how Amira overcame many obstacles and stereotypes to follow her dreams. They can write a personal narrative on a time when they had to overcome something and how it affected them.

[the-nerdy-panda-blog]

"The Red Pencil" by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Novels in verse have been amazingly popular this year, likely due to "The Crossover" winning the Newbery award. But there were plenty of great prose on shelves last year, like "Caminar" and, of cou...