Winner of the 2011 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. In a monastery in the
mountains of Mourne during the Middle Ages, one young monk struggled to focus on
his task: copying the Bible and other scholarly books with plain brown ink made
from wood bark in plain brown books in his plain brown robe at his plain brown
desk. Brother Theophane was soon transferred from the scribe's room and assigned
to make the ink that the brothers used. With his natural curiosity, Theophane
discovered that inks could be made from other plants besides the wood bark.
Berries and leaves produced other beautiful colors. And soon, the