In Tar Beach, an eight year old girl fantasizes about making her family's life better. She flies above the city. Anything that she can fly over, becomes hers. She wants the George Washington Bridge, she wants to Union Building, presto all she has to do is fly over them.
The text is simple yet my heart-strings were pulled as I read a child's perspective on prejudice, family sacrifice, and happy times with loved ones. The girl is attempting to claim ownership of things that her parents have no hope of owning or controlling on their own. To right the wrong of prejudice against the Union her father can't join, she plans to fly over it, and own it. Happy times with friends and family on Tar Beach (the apartment building roof) create the sense of safety that allows the girl to dream of giving her family the things they want. So they can have more happy times.
The story of Tar Beach was first told on a story quilt. In the quilt. a single large painting of the family on Tar Beach is the focal point. The text is written on the top and bottom with quilting squares along the perimeter. To make the book, Ringgold painted addition illustrations in the same style as the quilt painting. On the bottom border, prints of the quilt squares are pictured. It is no wonder Tar Beach is a Caldecott Honor Book. For students, it would be interesting to explore how the story, quilting, and painting all go together to create the book. Autobiographical information detailing some of the process is included at the end of the text along with a photograph of the original quilt.
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