Debra Briatico (Children's Literature)
Based on a true story, this gripping book describes the remarkable friendship between two Union soldiers during the Civil War. In this tale, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), a young black soldier, finds Sheldon Curtis (Say), a white soldier too injured to walk, and carries him home so his mother can nurse him back to health. After marauders kill Pink's mother, the two boys are captured and sent to Andersonville prison, where Pink is eventually killed. 1994, Philomel Books, $15.95. Ages 6 to 12.

Jan Lieberman (Children's Literature)
Pinkus Aylee never considered color when he saved the life of Sheldon Russell Curtis, a white soldier, wounded and near death. The boys were fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War. Pinkus, aka Pink, carries Sheldon to his mama's house where she treats his wounds and nurses him back to health. During this time, Sheldon, aka Say, confesses his fears of returning to battle and develops an endearing friendship with his black friends. When marauders kill Pink's mama, Moe Moe Bay, the boys flee. They are caught and taken to Andersonville but only Say survives. He keeps the story alive for his children and grandchildren. Now Patricia Polacco, a fifth generation granddaughter, lovingly illustrates and relates this touching story for us all. 1994, Philomel, $15.95. Ages 7 up.

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
This is the story of Pink, a young black soldier who rescues Say, a young, wounded white soldier, from the battlefield. Pinkus Aylee hides the young white soldier in the house of his mother Moe Moe Bay, who nurtures the boy with food and conversation and comforts his wartime fears. Moe Moe Bay dies trying to hide the two young boys from marauders. The two are then captured and taken to Andersonville Prison where Pink is hanged hours after arrival. His body is thrown into a lime pit. Pinkus Aylee is a character that will never be forgotten. This book is, in fact, taken from a true story told for generations in Polacco's family. Polacco's great-great- grandfather Say spent his life telling the story because he felt guilty for living when "a more worthy human had died," leaving behind neither birth certificate, death certificate, grave nor family to remember him. The book ends with a plea from the author: "When you read this, before you put this book down, say his name out loud and vow to remember him always." The story itself is remarkable, but so is Polacco's artistry. She reveals emotional bonds through her pictures. Throughout the book there is a visual emphasis on hands. Say, tormented by his own perceived cowardice, finds pride in the fact that he has shaken hands with Mr. Lincoln. Throughout, you see the tender hands of Moe Moe Bay, and the caring hands of Pink. When the boys are ripped apart, their hands stretch towards each other and Pink cries out, "Let me touch the hand that touched Mr. Lincoln, Say, just one last time." Polacco masterfully reveals her characters, portraying real life in the way they expose their vulnerability bit by bit. 1994, Putnam, $15.95. Ages 9 up.

Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
Say, a young white Civil War soldier, is rescued from a battlefield by another young soldier, Pink, who's African-American. Pink brings Say to his mother, Moe Moe Bay, who nurtures Say back to emotional and physical health. She later dies trying to hide the boys from marauders. Despite her efforts, the boys are captured and taken to Andersonville Prison where they are separated. Later, Say learns of Pink's death. Powerful themes of injustice, pursuit of freedom, stolen youth, interrupted life, and the cruelty of war and its aftermath thread themselves through this engrossing story. 1994, Philomel, $15.95. Ages 9 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1994)
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 finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against "the sickness" that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. 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. 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. The stunning illustrations -- reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form -- are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. 1994, Philomel, $15.95. Starred Review. © 1994 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 1994 (Vol. 48, No. 1))
Polacco pulls out all the stops in this heart-wrenching tale of Civil War valor which has been passed through several generations of the author's family. Sheldon (Say) Curtis recalls how, as a fifteen-year-old Yankee soldier, alone and bleeding in a Georgia pasture, he was dragged to safety by another young Union trooper, Pinkus (Pink) Aylee, who was separated from his company, the Forty-eighth Colored. The two injured boys make their way to Pink's home, where his mother Moe Moe Bay tends them in the abandoned slave quarters at the foot of the burnt-out big house. But after only a week of respite, during which Say finds the courage to confess he is a deserter, the boys are forced into hiding by approaching marauders. Trying to draw the marauders off, Moe Moe Bay is shot, and after the boys hastily bury her, they set off to rejoin Pink's company with renewed commitment to the Union cause. But Andersonville is their destiny: they are separated at the gate-Say to be imprisoned, and released in emaciated condition months later; Pink to be "hanged within hours." Say's narration rings true, incorporating rough-edged grammar and idiomatic vocabulary. Polacco's signature line-and-watercolor paintings epitomize heroism, tenderness, and terror as Pink hauls his wounded comrade up a rocky incline, Moe Moe Bay cradles the terrified deserter, and the boys' hands clutch desperately when they are parted at the prison gate. A minor theme involving Say's handshake with Lincoln bonds generations of tellers and listeners, who end the tale with "This is the hand, that has touched the hand, that has touched the hand, that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln." Unglamorized details of the conventions and atrocities of the Civil War target readers well beyond customary picture book age. R--Recommended. Reviewed from galleys (c) Copyright 1994, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1994, Philomel, [48p], $15.95. Grades 3-5.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1994)
The text relates a moving episode in the lives of two young Union soldiers whose Civil War experiences are vastly different because of their races. African-American Pinkus saves Sheldon's life but is hanged at Andersonville soon after arriving there as a Confederate prisoner. The story has been passed down through generations of Polacco's family, starting with ancestor Sheldon Curtis. A multifaceted book that raises questions about courage, war, family, and slavery. Category: Fiction. 1994, Philomel, 48pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.