Tar Beach

Title: Tar Beach

Author/Illustrator: Faith Ringgold

Publisher: Dragonfly Books, an imprint of Random House, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-517-58030-1

The story of Tar Beach is a very interesting fictional story about a little girl growing up in New York.  It is written from the perspective of the little girl, Cassie, who finds herself wanting to fly away and make things better for her family.  This book has many political and social undertones and it is important to talk about those issues if you are going to bring this book into the classroom.  The idea of  a"tar beach" is not something that I was familiar with but when I asked my mother about the term she was more than enthusiastic when she told me of her childhood and sitting on the roof with her family and neighbors.  It quite obviously brought great joy to her as a child and as an adult it is a fond memory, however, my mother did point out that the reason that they went to "tar beach" far more often than the actual beach is because they had very little money, getting to the beach was expensive and both of her parents worked so much that it was nearly impossible.  It is interesting how this notion of "tar beach" is expressed by both my mother and Cassie as such a pleasurable experience regardless of the fact that some people would view it as a hardship and something they only experienced because of a lack of money.

The story follows Cassie through the night sky as she acquires building and bridges and landmarks around the city simply by flying over them.  Cassie believes that her possession of these places makes her feel rich, like she owns the entire world, she also believes that by flying she is free, free to be what she wants and free to go where ever she pleases for the rest of her life.  Cassie also explains that her father is a builder who helped build the George Washington Bridge and other buildings where he walks like a cat on the scaffolding but that he cannot become a member of the Union because of his skin color.  Cassie talks about the fact that her mother won't be sad waiting for her father and that she'll be able to sleep late and laugh, which I see as a very thoughtful little girl and a sad perspective on her mother who doesn't laugh often, she is obviously concerned with her mother and wants her mother to be able to have it all.  However, the book then takes a turn and is much less serious and we are reminded that Cassie is a child and that owning an ice cream factory is also of utmost importance.  This last destination is very much a unifier, I feel as though all children can relate to the idea that if they could own a building by flying over it, one of the most sought after locations would be the ice cream factory!

When speaking about Cassie's father not being able to join the Union the text says that once Cassie owns the Union building by flying over it "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."  This line of the story is extremely descriptive, you can hear the anger and resentment in Ringgold's voice even though the story is told from Cassie's, an 8 year old, perspective.   The terms "colored" and "half-breed Indian" are obviously offensive and meant to cause discussion among adults who read this story, however, I am unsure as to how to handle this vocabulary with children.  I truly believe that it depends on the age of the children and their maturity, it can be explained to older children that these are words that are now seen as derogatory and hurtful but at the time they were used, regardless of how hurtful they were.

This book is extremely thought provoking, even from the perspective of the adult reading it.  I feel as though there are so many underlying messages throughout the text, particularly about race and injustice, the book reveals many serious social issues from the perspective of a child, which is not only interesting but extremely important because it is not done very often.  "Tar Beach" won a Coretta Scott King Award, which is awarded annually to African-American authors and illustrators who create exceptional books for children.  I am in complete agreement that this deserved this honor along with the Caldecott Honor that it received, it is an outstanding representation of what a children's book can be.  Political issues are not dumbed down for the children that the book is intended for, rather they are viewed through the eyes of a child.  By using this technique it is impossible to justify any of the racial stereotyping, segregation or any of the other injustices that plague or society.

The illustrations in this book are outstanding.  Ringgold originally created a quilt with a simple picture of "Tar Beach" the idea from this story came from the original picture on the quilt.  The squares of fabric are represented as the boarder to each page, and the illustrations are extremely simple, child-like even.  They are brightly colored and will absolutely hold the attention of children but the words are also written in such a way that children not only understand them but as though they are taken directly from a child's train of thought, they are simple sentences, a little scattered and ones that could easily run through the mind of the average eight year old.

This book taught me the lesson that regardless of who the book is intended for, a book can teach anyone about the world, even a picture book.  I think that the messages of this book are about freedom, independence, acceptance and tolerance -- all things that even adults can be reminded of.  I think it is an excellent representation of melding the fictional world of Cassie, with real world experiences of Faith Ringgold and bigger picture social issues.  The book allows adults to address real world problems with children in a relatable and accessible way.  I feel as though this is an excellent resource as an introduction to a social studies lesson about either the civil war, civil rights or social injustices in general.  One activity that could be used in a classroom is to have the children create a paper "quilt" about the important places that they have in their lives to their family or culture and then write about where they would fly to if they needed to get somewhere.  As the book says "I have told him it's very easy, anyone can fly.  All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way.  The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars."  I find this to be the most powerful line of the story, it is about so much more than a child's imagination, it is about flying away from injustice and inequality, it is a very powerful line.