RDG 6319 Foundations of Reading, Summer 2017 discussion
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
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Lisa
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Jun 06, 2017 06:44AM
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This book was absolutely heartbreaking, if I’m being honest. I was so upset when Moe Moe Bay was killed! The book is well illustrated, and is a beautiful story of two adolescent boys coming together to fight for themselves and their families. Understandably, Say is terrified of fighting in a war, but Pink is adamant that he has to go back and fight for what he believes - the abolishment of slavery. I had to take a few days to process this book before responding to it, because it was an emotionally heavy book for me. I am not sure why...I don’t have any personal connections to the Civil War. One of my favorite parts of this book was when Say discovered that Pink could read, and Pink said that he even though someone could own his body, no one could truly own him. I loved this part of the book because I think this is something my students could connect to. Many of my students are low-income students, and they believe that the world “owns them” and gets control over what they do and who they become. They don’t see how valuable their education could be to their lives.
I think this book would be good to use in my classroom as a way to engage students in dialogue about race relations and the inhumanity that others face. The two boys were treated differently from the time they entered the camp, which is an idea that transfers all the way to today. My students, especially my students of color, feel that life is unfair to them, simply because of the color of their skin. I would hope that by reading this book, they would see that education and fighting for what they believe in is the way to freedom.
What an amazing story! Since I like to jump in without reading anything about the book or author, this book was quite surprising and unexpected.I would have loved to have access to literature in other content areas, and this is a perfect book for a unit on American history in 5th. Instantly after reading, I was inspired to learn more about the facts, and I began googling the ages of Civil War soldiers and Andersonville. I would utilize this story to help teach the conditions of all involved, as well as, how African Americans felt/fought/fled, and as an intro to accompany visual aids to refresh what they may know of Civil War geography. I think it also could be great to strengthen reading comprehension, since requires understanding inferences attention and new vocabulary.
I enjoyed this book because it made me imagine how people felt during the Civil War. It took me back in time and made me make connections to this part of history. As far as emotions, it kept me interested in learning more about this time period as opposed to reading a history text. It mentioned the war between the states, President Abraham Lincoln, and how slaves were named during that time. This would definitely would be a great book for the upper elementary grades. Also, the author did a really good job at using strong vocabulary.
The cover was this book to me was really interesting. The cover had me making different predictions about what it could be about. I think this book would be great for a history lesson. I think it would be appropriate for 3-5th grade. I would discuss the seriousness of the book and how certain words are not appropriate to say anymore. Pinks character was very sad, it made me cry a little. He had a hard life, but never gave up. I would also have my students research the civil war and a war veteran. The students would make a fun interesting presentation and present it to their classmates.
I have read this book before and it is a very heartbreaking and harsh reality of what young teenage boys had to go through. It is especially heartbreaking to know that African Americans were expected to fight but not have the same weapons as other soldiers. I've read it more than once and each time the part where Moe Moe Bay is killed still gets to me. As sad as the story is, it is also very inspirational.
This book was exceptionally heartbreaking and depressing. It touches upon race, politics, friendship, and the reality of the world. It is a good book for history lessons for elementary to junior high students. I am not going to lie I was fighting back tears trying to get through this book. The vivid details that the author was able to depict about the war throughout the book were magnificent and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
This is one of my all time FAVORITE Historical Fiction picture book!!!! The words and illustrations are amazing! This powerful true story was about friendship, diversity, acceptance, the Civil War, freedom, and so much more. This impactful story can be incorporated in any fourth or fifth grade classroom. There are some detailed pictures and heavy content that make this picture book ideal for upper elementary. This story would be a great way to introduce a unit on the Civil War. Not only will students simply learn facts about the Civil War, but they will also hear and feel the emotions of everyone involved in the war. This story can also be used to teach cause and effect as well as predictions. After reading this story, a discussion of other stories that have been passed down by generation could be useful. Students could even talk with their families about stories that have been passed down in their family. Students could also practice comparing and contrasting by exploring different character traits of Pinkus and Say. One particularly interesting aspect of this story was the dialect it was written in. Using this as a discussion point about why the author used the language she did would be a great introduction into point of view. Overall this story was extremely impactful and meaningful. This text provides a great starting point for a number of thoughtful discussions and reaction writing pieces.
How grateful it is to meet someone that is willing to grow to love and care for you as if you was one of the family members regardless of the color of your skin. After reading this book it brought memories to how my teachers has helped me along the way in life to make me a better person and not giving up on life regardless on how tough it my seems but to not give up and always fight the battle until it is over.
Stephanie wrote: "This is one of my all time FAVORITE Historical Fiction picture book!!!! The words and illustrations are amazing! This powerful true story was about friendship, diversity, acceptance, the Civil War..."
This is a great book that I can have my players read to get them to understand that when times are tough upon you that you have a brother next to you that is there to pick you up. A brotherhood and friendship does not have a size or color to it and you can have a family outside of your family.
Katherine wrote: "This book was absolutely heartbreaking, if I’m being honest. I was so upset when Moe Moe Bay was killed! The book is well illustrated, and is a beautiful story of two adolescent boys coming togethe..."From the beginning of the book had my mind all over the place with them being from different groups fighting in a war only to both be left behind. When Pink came upon Say he gave a helping hand to a soldier that was injured and could not help himself. Pink and Moe Moe gave courage to Say to not be afraid to fight and after Moe Moe was killed Say knew he had to be there for Pink and they had to get threw the battle together and they did not let the color of their skin break them apart from each other.
Stephanie wrote: "This is one of my all time FAVORITE Historical Fiction picture book!!!! The words and illustrations are amazing! This powerful true story was about friendship, diversity, acceptance, the Civil War..."
I love that you would tie-in other oral stories and traditions-- excellent idea!
Marcus wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "This is one of my all time FAVORITE Historical Fiction picture book!!!! The words and illustrations are amazing! This powerful true story was about friendship, diversity, accepta..."
I agree that male athletes would really appreciate this story. Teamwork needs trust, and teams become families! Furthermore, many veterans share a special bond with each other by just being part of the "team."
Hilda wrote: "I enjoyed this book because it made me imagine how people felt during the Civil War. It took me back in time and made me make connections to this part of history. As far as emotions, it kept me int..."I think having the students interact with the strong vocabulary in this book is a great idea! You could have them keep their own "dictionaries" as they read.
Marcus wrote: "How grateful it is to meet someone that is willing to grow to love and care for you as if you was one of the family members regardless of the color of your skin. After reading this book it brought ..."I agree...I think getting students to read it and realize the reality that we are all on the same team. It isn't about your skin color, it's about helping those who are in need. I think this would be a good book to discuss the diversity that we see in every day life and how we need to be FOR each other, not AGAINST.
This book is heartbreaking, but it is a beautiful book. I have used this in class even with 8th graders, and the discussions and extension activities were awesome. They responded so well to the story and had tons of questions. These two boys were not much older than them so they were able to make some connections and be insightful about what was happening in the story. The most touching part for them was when Moe Moe Bay was killed. Many of the students related to a grandmother, aunt, or someone else special that they have known that they felt was extremely kind and generous. The topic of war is clear and present in this story which most students can relate to as well, unfortunately. However, they began to question more than anything the why? of war, and how unfair it is for all humans. It was nice to see the kids take this book to the next level and create "reaction charts" based on the events in the story.
Hilda wrote: "I enjoyed this book because it made me imagine how people felt during the Civil War. It took me back in time and made me make connections to this part of history. As far as emotions, it kept me int..."I also like how this book is very illustrative of the matter in which the war was fought and the stereotypes and prejudices that were present in that time. It lends itself well as an introduction to the Civil War and Slavery era.
Ashley wrote: "What an amazing story! Since I like to jump in without reading anything about the book or author, this book was quite surprising and unexpected.I would have loved to have access to literature in ..."
This book definitely brings you to want to know more about that time and the things that happened. There are so many unknown facts about the Civil War that create even more interest. Many people have built careers researching and being historians of the Civil War. My students were surprised to learn about careers like that, seeing as how many of them found this book very interesting and a great read.
Katherine wrote: "This book was absolutely heartbreaking, if I’m being honest. I was so upset when Moe Moe Bay was killed! The book is well illustrated, and is a beautiful story of two adolescent boys coming togethe..."This book definitely would lead to some great dialogue in the classroom.
Ashley wrote: "What an amazing story! Since I like to jump in without reading anything about the book or author, this book was quite surprising and unexpected.I would have loved to have access to literature in ..."
This book definitely lends itself to integrated lessons. I like your idea of getting students to find out more information about what soldiers lives were like.
We read this book in our content areas reading class and honestly, I enjoy this book. It is a bit sad, but it is amazing at showing the emotions and I LOVE the use of language in the book.
Ariel wrote: "The cover was this book to me was really interesting. The cover had me making different predictions about what it could be about. I think this book would be great for a history lesson. I think it w..."I love your idea! I also think that a piece of art would go well with this book.
Tien wrote: "This book was exceptionally heartbreaking and depressing. It touches upon race, politics, friendship, and the reality of the world. It is a good book for history lessons for elementary to junior hi..."I also enjoyed this book. I think that a piece of art would go well with this book.
