How long does it take to read Tar Beach?
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold takes about 35 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 35 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1991. 32 pages, about 8,800 words. Written for children.
2 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 59 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 35 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 22 minutes |
The page count is the median across 12 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
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 was not a member. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. "All you need is somewhere to go you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying above 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. - Author website.
Subjects: African Americans, Fiction, Flight, Juvenile fiction, Desire, African American folk art
