Book Talk: Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

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

Genre: Historical Fiction

Interest Level: 8 years and up

Book talk in first person by Kelli Kahmann

This book talk is designed for elementary students.

 I’d like to tell you a story about my truest friend, Pinkus Aylee. Pink, as I called him, was no ordinary person. The first day I met Pink, he carried me, a perfect stranger, on his back, so that I had a chance of livin’. Oh yes, I was in the worst of conditions. I had a lead ball lodged in my leg, just above my knee. This lead ball was an outcome of being in the white man’s war, you know, the Civil War, the war against slavery. Well, Pink found me just awaitin’ death in a pasture somewhere in Georgia and he very kindly decided to tote me all the way to his Moe Moe Bay’s home. Pink, was a soldier himself. He fought for the Forty-eight Colored. Yes, that’s right, Pink was a black man, more like mahogany, if you ask me. For days, Pink and I stayed with Moe Moe Bay. She fed us real good and soon I was up on that leg. I could tell Pink was happy to be home with his Moe Moe Bay. And, oh, how she loved having Pink, her baby, home with her. I watched as she held his face and looked into his eyes like she wanted to remember everything about him. We became family.  I enjoyed living with Moe Moe Bay, but Pink became worried that we might be putting her in harm’s way by being there. You see, Pink was lost from his troop and I had deserted mine. As we were planning our return to the war, a terrible tragedy happened. Oh, how I wish I could forget that awful day. 

If you would like to learn more about these courageous young men, read Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco.