Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition (Initial Situation)
Do You Remember the Time?
Cassie begins her story by telling us that she will "always remember" Tar Beach. We can't say for sure, but if we had to bet, we think she's speaking as an adult looking back on her childhood.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
It's All About the Benjamins
This plot is a little sneaky, because the conflict is underneath the surface. (If you're feeling fancy, the literary term for sneaky stuff like that "subtext.") We know Cassie's dad can't join the union. She never says it outright, but that's because of racism.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
Gone Daddy Gone
Remember what we said about sneakiness? Cassie tells us she wants to give her dad a building so that "Mommy won't cry all winter when he goes to look for work and doesn't come home." (16)
Then, on the next page, we see Mommy alone in bed. It sounds like Dad left home and never came back.
Falling Action
Daydream Believer
It's easy to miss that Mr. Lightfoot abandoned his family because Cassie launches into her daydream where he's a rich businessman. Then she tells us about another night on Tar Beach. It's like he never left—if you blinked, you might've missed it.
Resolution (Denouement)
Into the Great Wide Open
On the last page, we see Cassie and her brother Be Be flying over New York City. The future is wide open, and anything is possible.