Born in 1930 in New York City, Faith Ringgold was a multimedia artist most known for her story quilts depicting the African American experience. As an activist, she advocated for the greater inclusion of Black artists in U.S. museums. Finally, Ringgold was also a picture book author and illustrator, publishing about a dozen books before her death in 2024.
NPL of course has many of Ringgold's books in its collection, and we are proud to highlight some in this blog post. Any of these titles are great for classroom author studies, arts lessons, or windows and mirrors into the lives of African American children.
Perhaps Ringgold's best known picture book, Tar Beach, was first published in 1991. It tells the story of Cassie Louise Lightfoot, eight years old and in the third grade, who discovers that she can fly—high above the tiny rooftop of her family's apartment building, and up above the George Washington Bridge in New York City. Based on a story quilt of the same name, this now classic book is an award winner several times over, earning Ringgold the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, and a Caldecott Medal Honor.
If you are a teacher looking for ways to use Tar Beach in the classroom, check out some ideas here. For families sharing the book at home, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has suggested activities well. Also, don't miss this read-aloud by Faith Ringgold herself!
Ringgold published her last picture book, We Came to America, in 2016. Written as a poem accompanied by richly colored paintings depicting the diversity of people who live in the United States, this stirring picture book reminds us that "America" does not only belong to people who insist that everyone look, act, or believe the same way. America belongs to many people, of "every color, race, and religion," "from every country in the world."
If you want to delve into this picture book in the classroom, consider these from the publisher's website and from Teaching Books. As a read aloud for children, We Came to America is a full-throated affirmation of the goodness of the diversity that every student and their family brings.
We hope that this blog post has inspired you to read more books by Faith Ringgold, or explore books written and illustrated by other celebrated Black artists. Yes, February is Black History Month, but Black History is American History, and it is for every month and every day.
For more picture books by Faith Ringgold, see our catalog widget above. If you want to use other Ringgold books in the classroom, check out this resource from Penguin Random House.
Happy Reading (and creating!)!
