Recommended Reads: Picks from Jean Murphy, Co-owner of YoFresh Cafe

Title: I Love My Hair
By: Natasha Tarpley
Published: 1997

A young African American girl describes the different, wonderful ways she can wear her hair.

Call Number: JPicture Tarpl.N

Ages: 5 - 8 years

Title: Hey Black Child
By: Useni Eugene Perkins
Published: 2017

A lyrical, empowering poem that celebrates black children and seeks to inspire all young ones to dream big and achieve their goals.

Call Number: JPicture Perki.U

Ages: 4 - 8 years

Title: Black Sugar Babies
By: Charles R. Smith Jr.
Published: 2000

In this beautifully photographed, poetic celebration of the many shades of black babies, the author encourages babies to find splendor in the many hues of their own skin, and fosters creative exploration by introducing body parts, such as the belly, toes, hands, and cheeks, that babies and children love so much.

Call Number: JPicture Smith.C

Ages: 3 - 5 years

Title: A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America On the Moon
By: Suzanne Slade
Published: 2019

The inspiring true story of the pioneering African American mathematician Katherine Johnson who helped calculate America's first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world's first trip to the moon.

Call number: xBiog Johns.K Slade.S

Ages: 4 - 8 years

Title: Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions
By: Chris Barton
Published: 2016

You know the Super Soaker. It’s one of top twenty toys of all time. And it was invented entirely by accident. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, impressive inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy.

Call Number: xBiog Johns.L Barto.C

Ages: 7 - 10 years