Pink and Say

Pink and Say is a children's book written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. It was first published in 1994 by Philomel Books. The story is about two boy soldiers who meet each other in the battlefield during the American Civil War. One of the protagonists, Sheldon Russell Curtis ("Say"), is a white soldier who was injured while trying to escape battle. He is saved by a former slave named Pinkus Aylee ("Pink"), who is now a soldier of the 48th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops.^[6][7] Pink carries him back to his Georgia home where he and his family were slaves. While the frightened soldier is nursed back to health under the care of Pink’s mother, Moe Moe Bay, he begins to understand why his newfound friend is so adamant on returning to the war; to fight against "the sickness" that is slavery.

Plot

The story begins during the times of the Civil War. Say, a white Yankee soldier is badly wounded on the battlefield. He tries to escape with an injured leg, but soon gives in. Lying on the ground, he sees an African American Yankees soldier named Pink coming to his rescue. Pink gives Say some water for what little nourishment he can offer. Carefully, Pink carries Say back to his home in Georgia with his mom, Moe Moe Bay. There, Pink and his mother help Say restore him back to full health. This act of great kindness made Say befriend Pink and his mother as they spent a momentary amount of time with each other, enjoying the peace they have. Later, a little group of Confederate soldiers come to find Pink’s home. Only barely foreseeing the coming raid, Moe Moe Bay tells Pink and Say to hide in the root cellar, out of the sight of the soldiers. The soldiers capture the boys and kill Pink's mother. The two prisoners of war receive vastly different treatment: Say was released from captivity some months later, while Pink was hanged within hours. At the end of the story, Polacco lets the reader know that Sheldon Curtis was her great-great-grandfather, and that the story of Pink and Say was an oral tradition in her family; she wrote the book to serve "as a written memory of Pinkus Aylee". It also serves a great purpose by informing and entertaining the reader .

Reception

Pink and Say was well received by literary critics. Anita Silvey said in 2012 that she still cries every time she reads it. "In forty-eight pages Patricia Polacco brings children into the loss and heartache of the Civil War."^[6] It has also been called "probably the most powerful picture book written about the Civil War".^[8]

Pink and Say has been used by educators to engage with students in dialogue about topics such as race relations and man's inhumanity to man, and to teach them about the Civil War.^[9][10]

The story has since been published in Chinese: 平克和薛伊; pinyin: Píngkè hé Xuēyī, and in Spanish: Pink y Say.^[3][4]

References