By Faith Ringgold
Illustrated by Faith Ringgold

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 wasn't a member. "All you need is somewhere to go you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among 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.