Readers follow him on his quest in Malden, Virginia, where he finds inspiration in a man ``brown as me'' reading a newspaper on a street corner. As a boy of nine, Booker works in a salt mine from the dark of early morning to the gloom of night, hungry for a meal, but even hungrier to learn to read. 4- 8)Īn inspiring story of young boy's compelling desire to read. The stunning illustrations - reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form - are completely heartbreaking. Polacco ( Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against 'the sickness' that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit.

Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him.

A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army.

Pink and say by patricia polacco