Title: Tar Beach
First published: 1991
Description: Cassie Louise Lightfoot, eight years old in 1939, has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on "tar beach" --the rooftop of her family's Harlem apartment building--her dream comes true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city. She claims the buildings as her own--even the union building, so her father won't have to worry anymore about not being allowed to join just because his father was not a member. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. "All you need is somewhere to go you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying above the stars." This magical story resonates with a universal wish. Originally written by Faith Ringgold for her story quilt of the same name, Tar Beach is a seamless weaving of fiction, autobiography, and African-American history and literature. - Author website.
Subjects: African Americans, Fiction, Flight, Juvenile fiction, Desire, African American folk art, Intergenerational relations, Liberty, Children's stories, African American girls, Manners and customs, City and town life, Social life and customs, African American families, Prejudices, Imagination, Wishes, Artists, Home, Dreams, Historical, Blacks, 20th Century, Coretta Scott King Award, African American, People & Places, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Social Themes, Caldecott Medal, 1000blackgirlbooks, Children's fiction, Flight, fiction, Harlem (new york, n.y.), fiction, African americans, fiction, New York Times reviewed, collectionID:caldecotthonor90, Vocabulary, juvenile literature, Vocabulary, award:Ezra_Jack_Keats_award, award:Caldecott_award, lexile:790, lexile_range:701-800, lexile_code:AD, age:min:6, age:max:8, grade:min:Kindergarten, grade:max:3
Places: Harlem (New York, N.Y.), N.Y.) Harlem (New York, United States
People: Faith Ringgold
LC classification: PZ7.R4726 Tar 1991