Amira's days are filled with caring for her disabled sister, completing chores, and looking after her lamb; leaving little time for much else. Yet, she spends the few spare moments she has drawing in the dirt with a stick and dreaming of writing real letters in school one day.
Life in a refugee camp in Sudan is uncertain from one day to the next and Amira's constant quest to find hope of a better future is reflected in the rhythm of Pinkney's short-lined verse. Her steady optimism is aided when she is given a red pencil by an aid worker. She treasures each mark she makes in her notebook as she draws the family, friends, and landscape that surround her, all the while marveling at the vibrancy of the marks on the page that don't blow away in the wind. Evans' illustrations illuminate Amira's aspirations and struggles and the simple lines compliment Pinkney's sparse verse. This is an inspiring book of a girl that is able to find the light in the darkest of places.
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