‘Hair Love’ creator Matthew Cherry is back with another children’s book

The 7x7 alphabet board book includes Zuri and her father from Cherry's best-selling "Hair Love" book.

Former Baltimore Ravens star Matthew Cherry is back with a new children’s book that teaches babies and toddlers the ABCs of Black hair, CBS News reports. 

The Oscar-winning author appeared on “CBS News Morning” along with illustrator Vashti Harrison to discuss his latest work “Hair Love ABC’s.” The 7×7 alphabet board tome includes Zuri and her father from Cherry’s best-selling “Hair Love” book. Letter by letter, readers follow their joy-filled journey through the kinks and curls of Black hair, per publisher Penguin Random House. 

BET Awards 2022 - Red Carpet
Matthew A. Cherry attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)

“I have a young daughter, she’s 10 months old now, and I just wanted to do something that reimagines the baby board book to make sure the youngest readers really get to see themselves represented when they are starting to learn their words,” Cherry told the “CBS News Morning” team.

“Hair Love ABC’s” describes natural hair with standard technology — such as A is for Afro, N is for Natural, and W is for Waves, according to Penguin Random House.

As the holiday season approaches, the publisher notes that the book is the perfect gift for young readers embracing their natural hair and toddlers learning their ABCs. 

“Hair Love ABC’s” is out now online and at most bookstores.

Cherry’s “Hair Love” book became an animated film that won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short. According to a news release, Rapper Kid Cudi will lead the cast of his new animated series premiering on Max in September. 

Cherry’s upcoming “Young Love” series centers on “African American millennial parents Stephen Love (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi) and Angela Young (Issa Rae) as they experience the relatable ups and downs of modern life,” per the streamer’s news release. 

The cast also includes Brooke Monroe Conaway (Zuri Young Love), Loretta Devine (Gigi Young), Harry Lennix (Russell Young), Tamar Braxton (Star), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Sheree), Debra Wilson (Additional Voices), and others, according to the news release. 

The Max Original will debut with four episodes on Sept. 21. The 12-episode season continues with four episodes weekly, leading up to the season finale on Oct. 5.

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