Pink and Say

I don't remember the first time I read this, but I had the chance to relive that first reading experience recently when I observed a class having it read aloud. What an experience! This book truly had a whole class in its grip from page one on. This was a heartbreaking story and I don't know that any student left the room unaffected, but I know I was moved. Great storytelling and an ending that made the story all the more powerful. It was like bitter medicine; hard to swallow on the way down, but leaving you much better for having done so afterward.

Patricia Polacco- making me cry yet again.

A good introduction to a complex and terrible subject. Picture books can be a good way to begin a difficult topic.

Heartbreaking and beautiful- this civil war story will stay with you.

Pink, short for Pinkus, and Say, nickname for Sheldon, are two teenage boys from Ohio fighting for the Union army during the Civil War. This is the story passed down through generations of how they met and the events that followed. Pink has skin the "color of polished mahogany" and refers to the war as "his fight." Say simply longs to return to his family farm. In expressive and dramatic illustration, the story unfolds two lives parallel in every way except one: slavery. Polacco's artistry in written word makes the characters come alive with dialogue and fills in details not present in the illustrations. Polacco's visual artistry fills in where emotion and truth can't be put into words. Setting the scene, context, and message of the show more story within the first two full page spreads, Polacco juxtaposes Pink's final moments before heading off to war with Say's family farewell as he leaves--the comparison is notable. First time readers will want to go back to these initial pages while the returning reader might take a tender lingering pause before once again experiencing the story of Pink and Say. This is must read in historical fiction for anyone looking for authentic voice, rich text, and vibrant illustration. show less

Pink and Say is a story passed down through the generations born of the man who was called Say. Sheldon Russell Curtis was a young boy from Ohio who was fighting for the North during the Civil War. He was wounded while deserting, but saved by Pinkus Aylee, a slave. Pinkus, or Pink, as he was called, brought Say home to his mama, Moo Moo Bay, who nursed them both back to health. Pink wanted to go back and fight for his freedom. Say was afraid. Pink could read, and Say could not, but pink promised to teach him. It was never to be. Marauders came and killed Moo Moo Bay, captured the boys, and hung Pink. Say’s story is the only way we can remember Pinkus Aylee.
Pink believed in freedom, and was proud to shake Say’s hand, the hand that show more had once shaken the hand of Mr. Lincoln. Pink had the courage and belief for that to be enough to spur him back into the fight. He was a hero, and Say passed his story down through the generations, so that now we can read it.
Why is it important now, when African Americans have freedom, and that war is long over? Because racism still alive in this country today. This story may be from the past, but the message is extremely contemporary. People still judge others on the basis of the color of their skin, not the courage in their hearts nor the intelligence in their minds. We see racism everyday, in school, in work, on the streets, and sometimes even in our own homes and within our own families. Yet the value of a person can never be measured in such simplistic terms.
Pink and Say reminds us that we are all humans with the same frailties of physicality, but that we all have gifts to share with one another. We all must see through the outer shell to the true people inside. This is a timeless lesson, and one that all people need to be reminded of from time to time. This story brought true tears to my eyes, and I mourned Pink. Not simply because he never got to share his gifts of reading and courage with Say, but because our world lost him, all he was and could have been. However, this country was built on his spirit, and the spirit of many others like him, with many different shades of skin. Courage does not have a skin color.
If I were to teach a history lesson on the Civil War, I would include this book in my high school lesson. There were so many political issues at stake during the Civil War, but at its root was that all people were valuable, not to own, but to be appreciated as people. Freedom should have always been an inherent right, but it was not. Pinkus Aylee felt that more keenly than any of us ever will, and his story is one of courage and strength. I am grateful to have read his story, and hope that many others will. At the end of the book, I did say his name aloud, and I will remember him. Six stars out of five. show less

This is a very emotional story of how an African American solider, Pink, rescued a White solider, Say, during the Civil War. The two young soldiers became great friends but the story ended in tragedy after Pink’s mother was killed and the two soldiers were captured and placed in prison. Say was released a few months later and was able to leave a legacy after having a family. Pink on the other hand went into captivity sick and was said to have been hung days after being held captive. Therefore, his story is told through this book. I enjoyed reading this story told from the perspective of young soldiers. Unfortunately, war seems to be the way of America, therefore, many are desensitized by its effects. Many young men fight for our show more country and most of them, like expressed by Say, fight with fear. This story shows two young men finding courage within each other regardless of skin color simply as human beings. The illustrations are just as powerful as the story. show less

Say, a while boy fighting for the Yankee army is wounded in battle and left for dead until Pink, an African American soldier, finds him and carries him to safety. As the story progresses, Say and Pink get to know each other; Say learns about Pink’s life as a slave and opens up to Pink’s mother. A tragic turn of events leaves Pink’s mother dead and the boys captured by the Confederate army. The amount of text and size of illustrations varies greatly from page to page. Intricate watercolor illustrations mark the pages, making the reader feel as though they are being told a story passed down through the generations (which it was). While this heartbreaking Civil War story is a picture book and is written at an upper elementary reading show more level, it is powerful enough to read and appreciated by all ages. The book may even serve as an effective jumping-off point for history class discussions at the high school level. Readers will be moved to tears by this deeply heart wrenching story. show less

Patricia Polacco has explored her own childhood experiences in picture-books like The Trees of the Dancing Goats, Thank You, Mr. Falker and Mrs. Mack; she has related the tale of her daughter's childhood friend, and her battle with cancer, in The Lemonade Club; and retold the story of her Aunt Monique's childhood days in Nazi-occupied France, in The Butterfly. Her mother's life, and Polacco's loving relationship with her, feature prominently in Betty Doll, while the Christmas experiences of a great uncle can be found in An Orange for Frankie. In short, Polacco is an author who regularly mines her own history, and that of her family, to create poignant stories, and picture-books that linger in the reader's mind.

Pink and Say is no show more exception, being a retelling of a family story passed down through multiple generations - the story of Polacco's great-great-grandfather, Sheldon Russell Curtis, who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, was gravely injured, and left for dead in a muddy, blood-soaked field, and was then saved by Pinkus Aylee, former slave and fellow Union (child) soldier. Pinkus (Pink) and Sheldon (Say) became good friends, while on the run from marauders, and hiding out with Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, but war has few happy endings, and when they sought to return to their units, they found themselves captured, taken to the notorious Andersonville prison-camp, and separated forever...

A sobering and realistic look at a terrible time in our nation's past - Say is fifteen years old, and a deserter; Pink is determined to return to the fighting, but is instead executed, after being captured - Pink and Say is also a moving tribute to a friendship that took root in unpropitious soil, that flourished across racial and geographic lines, and that - despite being all too brief, in life - endured in the memory of one family. Polacco's family. This oral tradition has finally been recorded, in this moving picture-book, and we are all the richer for it. Highly recommended to anyone looking for titles that will give children the "feeling" of those times. show less