The Red Pencil: Part II: Kalma, Scraps–Erase

by Andrea Davis Pinkney
In this powerful novel-in-verse, a twelve-year-old Sudanese girl must make her way to a refugee camp after her village is attacked.

Here are links to our lists for the novel:Part I: Our Farm, Wheat-Seeing the Same Sun, Part I: Our Farm, Broken Bottle Dolly-Displaced, Part II: Kalma, Scraps-Erase, Part II: Kalma, Sweet Invitation–Flight
40 words 49 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. slur
    utter indistinctly
    I work to bring words,
    but...but...
    get only half sound.

    Slurred murmur.
  2. rancid
    having an offensive smell or taste
    A sour mix of rot
    and sorrow,
    rancid trash,
    decaying memories.
  3. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    No life in this camp's branches.

    Flimsy,
    wiry,
    withering souls
    whose trees are just as weak.
  4. wiry
    lean but strong
    No life in this camp's branches.

    Flimsy,
    wiry,
    withering souls
    whose trees are just as weak.
  5. meek
    humble in spirit or manner
    I don't want to draw,
    at all,
    on this rancid land,
    with these meek,
    rubber strands,
    so bendy.
  6. uproot
    move forcibly from a homeland into a new foreign environment
    Everywhere bodies:
    all of us sweaty,
    desperate,
    uprooted.
  7. smother
    conceal or hide
    I hear a bird,
    distant,
    low-calling
    from some smothered place
    that feels like it belongs to me.
  8. coddle
    treat with excessive indulgence
    She coaxes,
    coddles,
    as if feeding a finicky child.
  9. finicky
    fussy, especially about details
    She coaxes,
    coddles,
    as if feeding a finicky child.
  10. knead
    manually manipulate, for medicinal or relaxation purposes
    Pain-clouds rise in Muma's eyes.
    She takes both my hands in hers.
    Holds them.
    Kneads them,
    as if she's shaping dough.
  11. deprivation
    a state of extreme poverty
    It hurts
    to pray for deprivation.

    It's like wishing on a thimble.
  12. blare
    make a loud noise
    A flicker box—
    lighted,
    loud,
    blaring sound.
  13. flicker
    flash intermittently
    A flicker box—
    nailed high up
    on an iron pole
    so that everyone can see
    what flickers out
    from its shiny square face.

    Flickering,
    flickering.
  14. elder
    a person of more advanced age
    One elder woman,
    skin deeply creased with age, says,
    "Kalma is a sharp-eared wolf
    that cannot be held or released
    from the grip of an uncertain hand."
  15. bountiful
    producing in abundance
    So light,
    like feathers,
    these bountiful blooms.
  16. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Doesn't he see his wife wince?
  17. summon
    gather or bring together
    The man summons his saliva,
    spits a stream.
  18. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    She trembles,
    stretches her warped limbs,
    aching to make them longer.
  19. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    But I can tell by the mottled hunk of butter
    in that high place,
    and by the sky's ebony cape,
    that we must endure
    more darkness.
  20. ebony
    a very dark black
    But I can tell by the mottled hunk of butter
    in that high place,
    and by the sky's ebony cape,
    that we must endure
    more darkness.
  21. ragged
    having an irregular outline
    Leila starts to sleep
    as her evil dreams flee
    through the open eyelid,
    ragged hole
    that lets in the night's only light.
  22. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    The burn welts on his neck
    have turned to pocked, blotchy scabs.
  23. scab
    the crustlike surface of a healing skin lesion
    The burn welts on his neck
    have turned to pocked, blotchy scabs.
  24. snarl
    twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
    I work
    to fight
    the knot
    pushing,
    pressing,
    pump-pumping
    snarled air
    from deep inside
    my belly’s belly.
  25. fleck
    make a spot or mark onto
    Miss Sabine's eyes:
    light,
    the color of sand,
    flecked
    with green glints.
  26. safari
    a journey to hunt or see animals, especially in Africa
    A safari suit with many pockets
    is too tight
    for his squat body.
  27. squat
    short and thick
    A safari suit with many pockets
    is too tight
    for his squat body.
  28. prod
    push against gently
    Always nuzzling me at night,
    always waking me,
    warm
    with its prodding.
  29. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    At the front,
    she stands up,
    gets two gallons,
    trudges off the line,
    panting.
  30. wring
    twist, squeeze, or compress in order to extract liquid
    She pounds at the plop with a rock.
    Wrings out the underpants,
    sets them on a mat to dry.
  31. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
    Leila's bad dreams
    and Gamal's grief
    have rubbed their anguish
    onto me.
  32. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    Our meal is a makeshift mix
    of greens,
    salt,
    rice,
    and onions,
    going stale.
  33. slather
    spread thickly
    Muma slathers me,
    Leila,
    and Gamal
    with sticky sesame oil.
  34. vex
    disturb the peace of mind of
    My questions would vex Muma.
  35. crevice
    a long narrow depression in a surface
    Waddling with a will
    through the crevice
    that separates our hut
    from the one next door.
  36. half-baked
    foolish; not fully thought out
    I see you nosing your way
    past trash
    and dirt-caked paths
    that have carved themselves
    between
    half-baked homes,
    hungry
    for anything
    that will change them
    from makeshift
    to livable.
  37. mold
    make something, usually for a specific function
    It's only when Old Anwar
    spots your waddle
    that I learn of the proper name
    chosen for you by Allah,
    when the Almighty was molding creatures.
  38. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    A breath storms through me,
    rasping,
    fierce.
  39. brim
    be completely full
    Her eyes are brimming
    with giddy surprise.
  40. snippet
    a small piece of anything
    My speaking is still in snippets.
Created on Fri Dec 01 19:20:24 EST 2017 (updated Tue Jan 16 15:18:05 EST 2018)

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