The Red Pencil: Part II: Kalma, Sweet Invitation–Flight

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
35 words 37 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crinkle
    become wrinkled or crumpled or creased
    Old Anwar purses his crinkled lips
    into a smile that can only mean
    satisfaction.
  2. nomad
    a member of a people who have no permanent home
    So many thousands of nomads, wandering nowhere.
  3. knack
    a special way of doing something
    Even Old Anwar's
    knack for mathematics
    can't add it all up.
  4. yearn
    desire strongly or persistently
    The boy
    is reaching toward clouds
    shaped like a mother and a father,
    his hands yearning for hugs
    from heavenly parents.
  5. static
    crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
    But—pop!—like a tooth suddenly gone,
    CNN's moving pictures disappear,
    drowning in a cloud of static.
  6. rumple
    become wrinkled or creased
    My yam stays hidden
    under the dusty,
    rumpled blanket
    at the foot of my pallet.
  7. yield
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    Muma stoops to pick up
    a stubborn pebble that will
    not yield to her broom's stiff bristles.
  8. bristle
    a stiff hair
    Muma stoops to pick up
    a stubborn pebble that will
    not yield to her broom's stiff bristles.
  9. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    This red-eyed rat,
    this crafty criminal,
    knows I've caught her
    before she can even try to steal
    what's mine.
  10. parched
    extremely thirsty
    Hatch-hatch—
    quick mustache,
    patched to the top
    of a parched,
    dark
    lip.
  11. possibility
    a future prospect or potential
    Gamal:
    wide-open eyes,
    smiling,
    seeing possibilities
    in "icken oodle"
    and broken bottles.
  12. marred
    blemished by injury or rough wear
    Dusty skin,
    smooth,
    yet marred by
    healed ropes of
    burned flesh
    fanning his neck.
  13. utter
    express audibly
    I utter a quick, silent prayer.
  14. pudgy
    short and plump
    The slope of her nose,
    ending in a pudgy bump
    that leads to full lips,
    ready to say:
    "Amira, come to my new school!”
  15. flit
    move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    And books
    and a blackboard,
    and laughing,
    and many
    students,
    chanting,
    singing,
    trapping
    funny-bug alphabet letters
    that flit on that blackboard.
  16. snare
    a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose
    "What snare has trapped you, Amira?"
  17. reprimand
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
    I lower my head,
    ready to accept
    my reprimand.
  18. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    Old Anwar says,
    "I am the one
    to be admonished
    for not seeing
    that the bright star right in front of me
    needs a bigger sky
    to shine."
  19. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    I can hear the weathered skin
    of one hand
    coursing against the ashen skin of the other.
  20. regret
    sadness associated with some wrong or disappointment
    Scaly knuckles whisper regrets
    as Old Anwar wrings his hands even harder.
  21. impractical
    not workable
    "This impractical man has told me about
    your lessons."
  22. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    Rubber-twig kindling
    burns slowly,
    holds heat,
    smolders to make
    a smoky curtain,
    thick between us.
  23. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    Rubber-twig kindling
    burns slowly,
    holds heat,
    smolders to make
    a smoky curtain,
    thick between us.
  24. pucker
    draw together into folds
    Muma watches,
    eyebrows puckered,
    waiting to see what my stick will do.
  25. wreath
    a circular band of flowers or other foliage
    She draws
    a wreath
    that enfolds
    my stick-shaped faces.
  26. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    Just days after deeming me a fool,
    my mother
    has found a treasure
    she didn't know was hidden.
  27. flaunt
    display proudly
    A lighted ball
    flaunting plump abundance,
    high
    in a so-black sky.
  28. scroll
    a document that can be rolled up (as for storage)
    He has no book,
    no pages,
    no scroll to show me.
  29. adorn
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
    With my pencil,
    I turn trash bags
    into pretty
    petaled
    blossoms,
    stemming from
    fences,
    adorned
    with sparrow
    scrollwork.
  30. scrawl
    write carelessly
    I let go,
    scrawl,
    climb,
    scribble.
  31. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    He's gruff, calling to me,
    insisting,
    "Come, help carry!"
  32. grapple
    work hard to come to terms with or deal with something
    Both Safari Suits lunge,
    grapple,
    shove to get that glass vessel,
    now spilling its insides.
  33. sensible
    showing reason or sound judgment
    "Child! Have you been stripped
    of all that is sensible?"
  34. douse
    wet thoroughly
    Old Anwar douses himself with the oil.
  35. stipple
    make by small short touches, as in paint or ink
    Casting a stippled shadow
    over Kalma,
    I fly off.
Created on Fri Dec 01 19:24:03 EST 2017 (updated Tue Jan 16 15:12:24 EST 2018)

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