Ashleigh Powell's Reviews > The Red Pencil

The Red Pencil would be a great book to use as an introduction to poetry for grades four and above. The book follows Amira, a young Sudanese girl, while her village and family experiences war. Due to the traumatizing events, Amira loses her voice and begins to lose her hope too. Overtime, she is gifted a red pencil and this allows her to find her voice again and pursue and education.

Amira dreams of attending school one day, and her red pencil helps her achieve this dream. I would want my students to use their pencils to draw a dream that they want to achieve on day and we can post them around the classroom.

This book can also be used as an introduction to metaphors and similes as many were used throughout the novel. I would compile a list of 10 metaphors and ask the students to tell me what they were describing/trying to get across.

The Red Pencil is a wow book because both the poetry and illustrations are so lively that they draw you in. It is also about a young girl who is determined to do what is best for herself even though others may not agree, and it's a book about gaining your hope back when you thought all hope was lost.