Read With Me Wednesday: Pink and Say

I just finished reading Forge, the sequel to Chains by Lauire Halse Anderson.  My wonderfully thoughtful cousin brought it to a family function this Sunday, and I was so pleasantly surprised!  I literally had just finished reading Chains again and was anticipating getting Forge from the Library, but was still on the waiting list!  Anyway, Forge reminded me of another great book, Pink and Say by Patiricia Polacco.  I ran to library to check it out so we could read together for story time!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Pink and Say
by Patricia Polacco

Pink and Say highlights the brief but intimate friendship of two young boys, Pinkus Aylee (Pink) and Sheldon Curtis (Say), during the Civil War. When wounded attempting to escape his unit, Say is rescued by Pink, who 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 new found friend is so adamant on returning to the war; to fight against "the sickness" that is slavery. However it isn’t until marauders take Moe Moe Bay’s life, that Say is driven to fight. Although ultimately, both boys are taken prisoners of the Confederate Army, fortunately Say survives and was unable to pass along the story of Pink and Say to his daughter Rosa, Patricia Polacco’s great grandmother. As it was told, Pink was hanged just shortly after being taken prisoner, therefore Patricia’s book "serves as a written memory" of him. At the end of the story Patricia bids the reader, "Before you put this book down, say his name (Pinkus Aylee) out loud and vow to remember him always."
One of the more heartwarming moments of the story is when Say tells Pink and his mother that he once shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln. Convinced that his encounter is a "sign" of hope, Say reaches for Pink’s hand, exclaiming, "Now you can say you touched the hand that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln!" At the end of the story when the boys are separated, Pink reaches for Say one last time to touch his hand.  (The Story (From Leah Polacco))