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A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Based on the author's quilt painting of the same name.Tags
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Member Reviews
I was really impressed with this Caldecott book for a couple reasons. I found the illustrations to be beautiful but I was overlooking something at the top and bottom as adults often do. I love children, in part, because they notice everything and help me to keep my awareness instead of tuning out the world. I got to the end of this good story and decided to read a bit about the author to realize the illustrations were pieces of art and her history was as rich as the theme of the story. This gave the book so much more dimension and cultural relevance not only for lost artforms such as quilting but sometimes the voices of our ancestors. Bravo, for bringing it all together in a way a child can celebrate!
The honest and child-like perspective of Cassie is at once refreshing and heartbreaking. The narrative provides the reader an idea of the racial prejudices and familial tensions woven through the book but from Cassie's perspective appears innocent. The first thing I thought when looking at the illustrations is that of detailed and colorful chalk art. The quilt images on the bottom of each page ties the semi-fictional, semi-biographical story to Ringgold's own quiltmaking and the reasons behind her textual and artistic choices. On one of the last page she provides an image of the story as an entire quilt, portraying how the story is pieced together. Ringgold also provides a page of explanation behind the book and its cultural, personal, show more and historical influences. show less
I love this book - it is a great story and the images are so beautiful. The entire book is illustrated as a quilt and the last page is one image from the book bordered by the text of the book - it is really beautiful. The story is also very powerful and empowering at the same time. It is about a little girl who lives in Tar Beach in Harlem and dreams of flying up over the George Washington bridge, which her daddy helped build and which opened on the day she was born. Cassie dreams of wearing the bridge as a necklace and says it is her most prized possession. She talks about how her daddy can't be part of the union, because his father was not a member - notes in the back of the book point out that this type of grandfather clause was a show more way of keeping African-Americans and Native Americans out of unions. This book is aimed at children but it gives them a lot of credit - it talks about how the George Washington bridge was built and the injustices suffered by minorities who helped to build it. It is also about how a little girl dreams of being free and flying over the things she wishes she had so that her family will have an easier life. I really like this book and I appreciate its honesty about some difficult issues. show less
Cassie is an 8-year-old African American girl in Harlem, who dreams as she sleeps on the roof of her apartment building. The roof is her 'Tar Beach'. She imagines herself flying, and in her mind, she can do anything and own anything she wants. Although she isn't rich in the traditional sense, she is very imaginative, creative, and loves her home. She dreams of making her family's life a better one. This story, in my opinion, can help kids realize that life is all about perspective and appreciating those around you, and determination and creativity is everything. I thought this story was fresh and inspirational, and I liked Cassie's spirit. She may be young, but she doesn't let anything hold her back from her dreams.
This book was amazing in all of the elements it has to offer. The imagination that the author sets you into is mind-blowing and felt very personable. I loved the adventure aspect that the author takes the reader on. The voice and language of the story is great for a variety of readers as it is not too complex but can be analyzed in a deeper context if needed. The multicultural aspect of this book falls back on the main characters African American roots. A beautiful book involving family and love for the world.
In "Tar Beach", an eight year old girl named Cassie Louise Lightfoot took the readers on an adventure with her when flying above the city of New York. Cassie uses her imagination to escape from reality. When flying over the city, she thinks of the life she wants for her family. She imagines her dad being rich and owning his own building, her family eating ice cream every night, and her mom being happy. The book touches on themes like racism and poverty, but Faith Ringgold did a wonderful job talking about it in a lighter way for children. My favorite part about this book were the illustrations. It is no surprise that "Tar Beach" received the Caldecott and Coretta Scott King awards for illustration. The pictures were unique and the show more border of each page had colorful patterns of a quilt. When looking at the illustrations, I feel like I am flying with Cassie which I am sure was Faith Ringgold's goal. show less
I liked the book because it is a unique story that described a girl dreaming of flying over New York City. She felt that if she flew over something that it would be hers. She says, “All I had to do was fly over it for it to be mine forever.” If I were a child reading this story, I would be able to relate to this girl. She has a sense of feeling different and as an outsider, which is a common feeling among children at different times. The majority of the book is centered on the flying girl talking about her family and how important they are to them. So therefore, the main message of this story is family. She wants the best for her family especially her father when she says, “Well, Daddy is going to own that building, ‘cause I’m show more gonna fly over it and give it to him. Then it won’t matter that he’s not in their old union, or whether he’s colored or a half-breed Indian, like they say.” show less
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Author Information
32+ Works 7,718 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Notable Lists
Series
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Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Tar Beach
- Original publication date
- 1991
- People/Characters
- Cassie Louise Lightfoot
- Important places
- Harlem, New York, New York, USA
- Dedication
- My first book is for my mother, Mme. Willi Posey, who took me to Tar Beach. And everywhere else. If she could be here now!
And for my three grandchildren, Faith, Theodora, and Martha. They are all strong readers and... (show all) can fly.
And for my children, Michele and Barbara. They are women now. But I knew them when.
And for my husband, Burdette Ringgold, who keeps my feet on the ground. It was he who reminded me about Tar Beach after all these years. - First words
- I will always remember when the stars fell down around me and lifted me up above the George Washington Bridge.
- Quotations
- "I will always remember when the stars fell down around me and lifted me up above the George Washington Bridge."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 3,328
- Popularity
- 5,096
- Reviews
- 141
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- Chinese, English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 6