Tar Beach, written and illustrated by Faith Ringgold, is a children's picture book published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 1991. Tar Beach, Ringgold's first book, was a Caldecott Honor Book for 1992. The book is set in New York in 1939. Tar Beach is the roof of Cassie's Harlem apartment building. Cassie's dearest dream is to be free to go wherever she wants, and one day it comes true when the stars help her to fly across the city