Module 10: Pink and Say - Historical Fiction

Book Summary:

Pink and Say are two young boys fighting for freedom during the Civil War. Sheldon "Say" Russell Curtis is a frightened and wounded white Union Soldier. He is rescued by Pinkus "Pink" Aylee an African American Union Soldier. Pink takes Say to recover at his home, where his mother Moe Moe Bay nurse both boys to health and get them ready to return to fight. Pink had the opportunity to shake the hand of President Abraham Lincoln, so when Pink and Say shake hands, Say tells Pink that he has touched the hand that touched Abraham Lincoln. The boys are captured by the Confederate Army and are separated from each other. This story is based on real people.

APA Reference:

Polacco, P. (1994). Pink and Say. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Impressions:

This is a tender story of friendship and acceptance. Pink and Say are Union soldiers.  Pink finds Say wounded and dying on the battlefield.  He takes him to his mother so that she can help him to heal.  Moe Moe Bay is Pink's mother and she nurses both boys back to health.  There is a touching page when Say is comforted and consoled by Moe because he is afraid to go back and join the war.  Moe embraces him and rocks him like her own child.  Pink also knows how to read because he was taught by his former master how to read.  Say does not know how to read, but Pink promises to teach him.  The whole story of touching the hand of President Lincoln is amazing and it was a profound thought that Patrica Polacco is a descendant of Sheldon (Say) Russell Curtis.  Her father passed on the story to her as it was told to him by his mother, who was told the story by her mother who heard it from her father, Say.  What a legacy to have in a family history file.

Professional Review:

This book, the story of Polacco's great-great-grandfather, has been passed down from generation to generation in the author-artist's family. Fifteen-year-old soldier Sheldon Russell Curtis - Say to his family - has been left for dead on a Civil War battlefield somewhere in Georgia. A fellow Union soldier, Pinkus Aylee, who is African American - "I had never seen a man like him so close before. His skin was the color of polished mahogany" - discovers him and, with much effort, drags the feverish Say home, where his mother, a slave named Moe Moe Bay, nurses Say back to health. As the boys regain their strength, they become as close as real family and discuss things close to their hearts. Pink shares his special talent: Master Aylee, his owner, had taught him how to read. "'To be born a slave is a heap o' trouble, Say. But after Aylee taught me to read, even though he owned my person, I knew that nobody, ever, could really own me.'" Say receives special comfort from Moe Moe when he admits that he deserted his troop and is afraid to return to the war. On the morning the two boys plan to leave and search for their respective troops, marauding Confederate soldiers arrive and kill Moe Moe. Pink and Say are later captured and become prisoners of the Confederate Army, in Andersonville. Although Say lived to tell this story of friendship and brotherhood, Pink was hanged within hours of arriving at the dreaded prison. Told in Say's colorful, country-fresh voice, the text incorporates authentic-sounding dialect and expressions - such as darky - that would have been used at the time. Polacco's characteristic acrylic, ink, and pencil illustrations are suitably dramatic and focus on the intense physical and emotional joy and pain of the story's three main characters. The remarkable story, made even more extraordinary in its basis in actual events, raises questions about courage, war, family, and slavery. A not-to-be-missed tour de force.

Fader, E. & Silvey, A. (1994). Pink and Say. Horn Book Magazine, 70(6), 724-725.

Library Uses:

This story could be used as a starting point for studying and locating research information on the civil war.  It could also be used in a report to locate the student's family history or genealogy searches.