Pink and Say
Pink and Say
Book Title: Pink and Say
Book Author: Patricia Polacco
Book Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
This book addresses: American Civil War
Potentially Tricky Vocabulary:
Slogging: stepping with heavy feet, slowly, with difficulty
Bluff: a high, steep bank
Marauder: someone who roams from place to place, attacking and raiding while looking for food or other valuables
Winderlight: window
Vittle: supplies of food
Jumped the broom: got married
Inconsolable: unable to be cheered up, very sad and mad
Afeared: afraid
Buckboard: a 4-wheeled vehicle, something between a cart and a car
Smote: to hit strongly
Questions to ask the student before reading:
Who fought in the American Civil War?
Why did they fight?
Historical context to give before reading:
The American Civil War was fought between the Union (the states in the north) and the Confederates (the states in the south). There were many reasons why the civil war started and why it was fought, but perhaps the most important reason was because there were disagreements about slavery. Some Americans wanted to abolish slavery while others wanted to keep slavery around. When the civil war broke out, a lot of young boys and men volunteered to sign up to fight on one side of the war or the other. Notably, young black boys and men were able to sign up to fight for the union, although they didn’t get the same resources as white troops. This is the story of two young union boys meeting.
(The questions to ask the student and historical content above are interconnected. The historical context is typically going to be a supplement to what your student might not know. Some students may already be knowledgeable about a subject, others may not know much yet. Pay attention to what your student already knows and share the historical context accordingly.)
While reading:
Some of the pages have large blocks of text and use older vocabulary in order to stay accurate to the time that this story comes from. Take your student’s endurance into account when deciding how to split the reading of a page (maybe 60/40 student/tutor, maybe 50/50, etc.) and don’t be surprised if there are more words than usual in this book that your student needs help defining.
After reading:
Read the pages written in italics to your student. They are a note from the author about the story and how she came to hear it.
Why do you think Pink wanted to go back to the war more than Say did?
How did Pink and Say help each other? How did Moe Moe Bay help both of them?
Why is it important that Pink and Say’s story gets told?
Follow up activity (time permitting):
Have your student think of a memory that they have with a friend. It can be a fun memory, a funny story, or just a normal day that they spent together. Ask your student to write the story down and draw an illustration (or more than one!) to go along with it.
All definitions were adapted by Karina Connolly from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.