2025 Black History Month--Youth Recs

Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor African American girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

"Ju-Girl's favorite days are the ones spent with Granddad in his garage, fixing cars and hearing stories about his old blue pickup. Granddad used to drive the blue pickup all over the island, bringing happiness to many. And now it just sits in the driveway. One day, Ju-Girl asks Granddad if he'd ever fix it, and he's unsure at first. But the pair soon finds out just what it takes to restore the memory of the blue pickup and to create new stories along...

"Three girls start a hair-braiding business at their summer camp to make money, while competing against a rival business that threatens their plans"-- Provided by publisher. When Maggie learns that her father has a second daughter, Callie, she won't let a new family member get in the way of her summer plans with best friend Daija. They are determined to make tons of money braiding hair for kids around the neighborhood.Daija doesn't want Callie to...

This picture book adaptation of her critically acclaimed adult memoir paints a vivid portrait of the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a singular 20th-century American civil and human rights activist who fought for justice against all odds, becoming an unforgettable champion of social change.

"Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts is a compilation of letters from concerned young students about today's issues, including bullying, climate change, gun violence, and racism. Reading Ruby's intuitive and inspirational responses, young readers will embrace the courage to be brave, bold, and confident"-- Provided by publisher. "National civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges responds to letters from thoughtful and concerned young students from across...

Ever,

These letters are often all that get me through week to week. Even if it's just random stuff, nothing important, they're important to me. Gramps is great, and I love working on the ranch. But... I'm lonely. I feel disconnected, like I'm no one, like I don't belong anywhere. Like I'm just here until something else happens. I don't even know what I want with my future. But your letters, they make me feel connected to something, to someone.

...

"Set in the world of Marvel Studios' Captain America: Brave New World, A Hero Looks Like You is a heartwarming picture book about a young boy named DJ who steps up to help Captain America, his favorite Super Hero, and discovers along the way that heroes don't always look big or strong or wear a suit. Sometimes, they might even look like him." from Publisher.

"Timothy McVeigh wanted to start a movement. After the Oklahoma City bombing, the Gulf War veteran expressed no regrets. Jeffrey Toobin details how McVeigh's principles and tactics have flourished in the decades since his death in 2001, reaching an apotheosis on January 6 when hundreds of rioters stormed the Capitol. Based on nearly a million previously unreleased tapes, photographs, and documents, including detailed communications between McVeigh...

A young African American girl describes the different, wonderful ways she can wear her hair. Every night before she goes to bed, Keyana sits down between her mother's knees to have her hair combed. But no matter how gently Mama pulls, it still hurts sometimes! Keyana doesn't feel lucky to have such a head of hair--until Mama reminds her of all the lovely ways her wonderful hair can be fixed. Full color.

When twelve-year-old African American Jackson Freeman is forced to move from Raleigh, North Carolina to Chicago he finds himself suddenly in a world of talking glasses and clocks, magical inheritance, and daredevil train porters in a fight against a terrifying evil.