The Red Pencil

The Red Pencil (2014) is an award-winning novel in verse penned by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Shane W. Evans. It follows the journey of 12-year-old Amira, a Sudanese girl living in South Darfur, as her village is raided by the Janjaweed and her community is forced to flee their home in search of asylum elsewhere. The novel explores conflict and resilience.

Andrea Davis Pinkney is an American author who writes literature for children and young adults. Her body of work comprises picture books, novels, and even nonfiction, and has won a number of awards and honors—including multiple Coretta Scott King Book Awards. Shane W. Evans is an author and illustrator who has received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his work. The Red Pencil, which sees a collaboration between Pinkney’s verse and Evans’s illustrations, received several accolades—including being named a New York Times Notable Children’s Book of 2014 and receiving the 2015 Children’s Africana Book Award.

This guide is based on the Little, Brown and Company Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The Red Pencil contains mentions of animal cruelty, graphic violence, and death.

Plot Summary

The Red Pencil opens on Amira’s 12th birthday. Amira is a Sudanese girl living in South Darfur with her parents and younger sister.