The Red Pencil

The Red Pencil

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical novel in verse
• Originally Published: 2014
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 620L; Grades 4-8
• Structure/Length: 2 Parts; approx. 368 pages; approx. 3 hours, 12 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: 12-year-old Amira must acclimate to life in a refugee camp after violent armed militants destroy her home in a Sudanese village. Amira’s story is revealed through first-person free verse poems and sketches.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Violence; war; genocide; parent death; refugee conflicts

Andrea Davis Pinkney, Author

• Bio: Lives in Brooklyn, New York; bestselling author of picture books, novels, and nonfiction for children and young adults; selected to prepare and deliver the 2014 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award in recognition of her contributions to children’s literature
• Other Works: Hold Fast to Dreams (1996); Raven in a Dove House (1998); She Persisted: Harriet Tubman (2021)
• Awards: Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book (2014); New York Times Notable Children’s Book (2014); Children’s Africana Book Award Winner (2015); Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children’s Book (2015)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Resilience and Growth in the Face of Change
• The Relationship between Tradition and Faith
• Land and the Idea of Home

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the geographical and historical contexts regarding the Janjaweed conflict in Darfur that incites Amira’s personal journey.
• Analyze short paired texts and other resources to make connections regarding themes of Resilience and Growth in the Face of Change and Land and the Idea of Home.
• Conceptualize, design, and create book jackets for the book that represent students’ understanding of the text in keeping with the book’s use of art for creative expression.
• Analyze and evaluate character details, themes, and motifs to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Amira’s relationships with Dando and Old Anwar, the symbolism of soil, and other topics.