ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is with great thanks that I extend gratitude to many who opened their homes, schools, and memories to help make this book’s story authentic.

Thanks to Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, associate director of the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, for his valuable remarks on the manuscript.

Heartfelt thanks to Abdalmageed S. Haroun, founder and executive director of the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), whose personal journey from Darfur to the United States illuminates the passages found in this book.

Abdalmageed S. Haroun and Andrea Davis Pinkney celebrate the power of red pencils.

I extend gratitude to Nisrin Elamin, whose work with Global Kids, the National Youth Leadership Council, and Girfina, a Sudanese nonviolent resistance movement—and her tireless efforts on behalf of young people and displaced individuals living in Sudan’s refugee camps—served as inspiration for Amira’s story.

Appreciation goes to Carol Sakoian, vice president, Scholastic International, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, for her in-depth understanding of Africa’s literacy development and school systems. I am grateful to workers from the United Nations Development Programme—Bruno Lemarquis for putting me in touch with those who are on the front lines striving to improve conditions in Darfur and Sudan, and Asmaa Shalabi, program specialist in the United Nations Development Programme Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery, for her insights and knowledge about displaced families. Thank you, Jennifer Vilaga, for your extensive research help and fact-checking.

Special thanks to Mark Doty and Courtney Nuzum Jiménez, middle school codirectors at the Mary McDowell Friends School, and teachers Beverly Wind and Erica Fry for sharing their current-events curriculum about Darfur and Sudan and for offering helpful suggestions and guidance on ways to present this information to young readers.

Thank you, editors Liza Baker, Alvina Ling, and Allison Moore, whose wise editorial guidance helped shape this book’s narrative. Thank you, Rebecca Sherman, my agent and guide. Artist and visionary Shane Evans, your drawings have brought this story to incredible visual life. Liz Casal, your design brilliance has beautifully shaped the novel’s presentation.

And finally, to Brian, thank you for loving me.