Summary: This book tells the story of two Civil War soldiers. They are just boys themselves who find one another in the agony of war. One boy is African American and the other Caucasian. Though they are different they learn how to depend on each other during a brutal time in American History. This book tells of life during the Civil War era.
Citation: Polacco, P. (1994). Pink and say. New York: Philomel Books.
Impressions: This is a beautiful book. I enjoyed that this was a true story that had been passed down from generation to generation in the Polacco family. It is very sad but accurate in the depiction of life in through the Civil War era. The pictures are beautiful throughout the story. The use of hands in the illustration is important to show how these two individuals were a support for one another.
Book Reviews:
“Hands and gestures have always been important in Polacco’s work. Here they are at the center of a picture book based on a true incident in the author’s own family history. It’s a story of interracial friendship during the Civil War between two 15-year-old Union soldiers. Say, who is white and poor, tells how he is rescued by Pinkus (Pink), who carries the wounded Say back to the Georgia home where Pink’s black family were slaves. In a kind of idyllic interlude, Pink and his mother nurse Say back to health, and Pink teaches his friend to read; but before they can leave, marauders kill Pink’s mother and drag the boys to Andersonville prison. Pink is hanged, but Say survives to tell the story and pass it on across generations. The figure of Pink’s mother borders on the sentimental, but the boys’ relationship is beautifully drawn. Throughout the story there are heartbreaking images of people torn from a loving embrace. Pictures on the title and copyright pages show the parallel partings as each boy leaves his family to go to war. At the end, when the friends are wrenched apart in prison, the widening space between their outstretched hands expresses all the sorrow of the war. Then, in a powerful double-page spread, they are able to clasp hands for a moment, and their union is like a rope. Say once shook Lincoln’s hand, just as Say held Pink’s hand, and Say tells his children, who tell theirs, that they have touched the hand that touched the hand.” -Hazel Rochman
Rochman, H. (1994). Pink and Say. Booklist Online, 91(1). Retrieved from Children's Literature Comprehensive Database.
"Unglamorized details of the conventions and atrocities of the Civil War target readers well beyond customary picture book age."-Elizabeth Bush
Bush, E. (1994). Book review: pink and say. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 48(1). Retrieved from Children's Comprehensive Literature Database.
Library Settings: Though this is a picture book, this book is very deep. It depicts the inequalities of life for African Americans during the Civil War. I think this would be great for a book discussion of middle school students. The characters in the book are not very old so I think that audience could relate. This would be a great time to have some creative writing time as well. Have the kids or students write a letter as if they were Pink or Say. Ask them what they would miss? Have them describe some of the things they may have seen or experienced.
