Dave Schaafsma's Reviews > Malala's Magic Pencil

Each year my family reads all the Goodreads-award-nominated picture books, and we have been doing this for years. Everyone rates each book and adds a comment and it may (or may not) affect my overall rating. This is book #12 of 2017.

"I knew then that if I had the magic pencil, I would use it to draw a better world."

Tara: 4.5 stars. Very sweet and moving.

Harry (12): 5 stars. Sad, with everything people went through and what they still go through today.

Hank (11): 5 stars. Just amazing!

Lyra (10): 5 stars. Beautiful and inspiring story. Boys and girls should have the same rights. I loved the beautiful paintings.

Jenn (adult family friend): 5 stars. Inspiring story and beautiful drawings.

Dave: 4 stars (but here is an instance in which the collective view brings the overall score up to 5). Pakistani, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize at 14, writes of the importance of children's access to education, gender equality, and the power of the imagination in changing the world. "Malala will live free as a bird."