Module 10

 Historical Fiction

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

Bibliography
Polacco, P.  (1994). Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers Group.


ISBN 0-399-22671-0

Summary
This book was written so well, and was a very sad book, and what made the book even better than it already was, was the fact that it is the true story of the great great grandfather of the auther, makes it that much better and real.

The book highlights the very short yet intimate and now timeless relationship of Pinkus Aylee (Pink) and Sheldon Curtis (Say), which is also the story of a beautiful interracial friendship, which in those times was unheard of.  It took place during the Civil War, where a wounded Say attempts to escape and is found near death and rescued by Pink.  Pink and his mother Moe Moe Bay nurse him back to health.  They experience the sad death of Moe Moe Bay, who was now loved by both of the boys.  I do not want to give away any more of the story, but I highly recommend this book to any and everyone that knows how to read.

My Impression
It was one of the saddest and the best stories I read, I can't believe I never read this book before.  I loved it, it shows the friendship of two young boys that will live on forever and thanks to the author, who is the the great great granddaughter of Say (Sheldon Curtis).  This is a great book about the ugly truth about how things were.

Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

There are few picture books written about the Civil War, and none are as powerful as this one. This story, about how a young black soldier rescues a white soldier, opens young readers' eyes to the injustices of slavery and the senselessness of war. Highly charged emotionally, this masterful retelling of a true story, narrated through the white soldier's eyes, is made all the more powerful when it is revealed that the soldier was the author's great-great grandfather.

From Booklist

Ages 5-9. 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

Use in Library Setting
It should be available to everyone who knows how to read.  It is one of the saddest stories I read, and I think it shows a different side of the war and the reality of what the world used to be, I am not saying it is perfect today but it is better than what prior generations went through.  It is just sad.


Review. (n.d.). Pink and Say. [Review of the book Pink and Say]. 

Amazon.com. 
Available from

http://www.amazon.com/Pink-Say-Patricia-Polacco/dp/0399226710/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354844800&sr=8-1&keywords=pink+and+say

Review. (n. d.). Pink and Say. [Review of the book Pink and Say]. 

Barnes & Noble. 
Available from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pink-and-say-patricia-polacco/1101545720?ean=9780399226717 

Image from

http://www.thereadingnook.com/civil_war2/