Pink and Say

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

Brief Annotation: When Union soldier Say Curtis becomes injured the battlefield during the Civil war, Pink Aylee, the son of a slave and also a Union soldier, brings him back to his mother’s house for care. The two teenagers become fast friends, and Pink is determined to help Say recover quickly so they can return to the battlefield to fight. Shortly before they leave, marauders arrive at the home, and Pink’s mother is killed. After burying Pink’s mother, the boys set out to find their outfit, but are captured by Confederate soldiers. Pink and Say are wrenched from each other’s grasp, never to see one another again, but the spirit of their friendship lives on.

Genre: Historical fiction

Grade Level: 4-8

Readers who will like this: Readers who like stories about the Civil War, readers who like stories about friendship or would benefit or learn from a story about a friendship that breaks through social boundaries.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4. This is a wonderfully touching story passed on through the generations about an undying friendship.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What does it mean to be brave?

Reading Strategies Connection: Grand Conversations (Tompkins, 2009). The grand conversation literary strategy allows students to participate in a discussion on the big ideas in a piece of literature.
After reading a text, students can spend time gathering their thoughts by writing journals and drawing pictures that reflect important ideas and emotions that they have pulled from the reading. When individual ideas have been explored, the students can form small groups to discuss the big ideas with other students. The students can then come together discuss the text, one idea at a time, with the whole class. The teacher can help direct the discussion by asking questions, but the discussion itself is conducted by the students.
The story of Pink and Say provides students with a vast variety of topics to discuss such as interracial friendship during Civil War times, slavery, teenagers fighting wars, as well as concepts such as cowardice, bravery, loyalty, and kindness. Students will focus on different topics, and will have different opinions and emotions about the topics, which will provide rich, engaging conversations within the classroom community.