If you loved

Books like Pink and Say

A heartbreaking, beautifully illustrated testament to a brief but life-defining friendship forged in the crucible of the Civil War. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Pink and Say.

tender
somber
harrowing
poignant

01
January's Sparrow
Patricia Polacco
A tense, emotionally weighty historical journey that captures a family's desperate and courageous flight toward freedom.
Shares:
- harrowing
- earnest
02
The keeping quilt
Patricia Polacco · 1988
A tender, time-spanning embrace of a story that feels like wrapping yourself in a cherished family heirloom.
Shares:
- tender
- earnest
- reverent
03
Shades of gray
Carolyn Reeder · 1989
A quiet, deeply felt exploration of grief, prejudice, and the quiet courage it takes to understand those we have been taught to hate.
Shares:
- somber
- earnest
- compassionate
04
Turn homeward, Hannalee
Patricia Beatty
A poignant and determined historical journey of a young girl navigating wartime displacement to keep a promise to her family.
Shares:
- somber
- poignant
- earnest
05
The Glory Field
Walter Dean Myers
A sweeping, deeply rooted family saga that traces the enduring bonds of ancestry across centuries of struggle and triumph.
Shares:
- poignant
- earnest
- reverent
- compassionate
06
Crossing Bok Chitto
Tim Tingle
A courageous tale of cross-cultural friendship and the perilous, hopeful journey toward freedom.
Shares:
- earnest
- compassionate
07
Grandfather's journey
Allen Say · 1993
A quiet, beautifully illustrated meditation on the bittersweet reality of leaving one home to find another, only to forever miss the first.
Shares:
- earnest
- reverent
08
Soldier's Heart
Gary Paulsen · 1998
A harrowing, unsparing descent into the psychological and physical realities of war that shatters the illusions of youth.
Shares:
- somber
- harrowing
- earnest
09
Meet Addy
Connie Rose Porter · 1993
A harrowing but deeply hopeful journey of a young girl and her mother risking everything for freedom and each other.
Shares:
- poignant
- earnest
- compassionate
10
Happy Birthday, Addy!
Connie Rose Porter
A tender, empowering story about claiming your own identity and finding joy in the shadow of historical hardship.
Shares:
- poignant
- earnest
11
Copper sun
Sharon M. Draper · 2006
A harrowing but ultimately triumphant journey of survival, anchored by an unbreakable bond forged in the darkest of circumstances.
Shares:
- somber
- harrowing
- earnest
- compassionate
12
The Drinking Gourd Book and Tape
F. N. Monjo · 1991
A gentle but suspenseful historical adventure where a mischievous boy stumbles upon his family's dangerous, life-saving secret.
Shares:
- earnest

Back to Pink and Say