TAR BEACH: Faith Ringgold's 1991 children's book is both a literary and artistic marvel, which makes sense considering Ringgold's fame as a creator of painted story quilts. Tar Beach is based on one such quilt, telling the tale of eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who flies above her family's Harlem roof and her beloved George Washington Bridge at night. Cassie's innocent narration touches on the economic struggles inflicting her family during the Great Depression, including the racism that's kept her father out of the union and away from better-paying jobs, and the story is spectacularly illustrated by Ringgold herself.