We are pleased to share some good news from Tapped Potential Publishing.
Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy’s Jay-Jay the Giraffe: Looking for the Murphy Farm has been named a winner in the 2026 International AAHGS Book Awards® (IABA®), receiving recognition in the Children: Educational category.
The winners were announced by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) in conjunction with its 2026 “Research – Recover – Reclaim” Virtual National Symposium.
This year’s recognized works span children’s literature, young adult literature, historical fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. AAHGS noted that the winning books reflect the diversity and depth of African-ancestored narratives across generations and around the world.
We are proud to see Jay-Jay the Giraffe included among them.
A Journey to Find a Place to Call Home
At the center of Jay-Jay the Giraffe: Looking for the Murphy Farm is a simple but meaningful idea.
The Murphy Farm is a legendary place in the jungle where animals of all kinds are said to live together peacefully. Jay-Jay, a young and determined giraffe, sets out to find it and make it his home.
His journey introduces him to a wide range of characters, from friendly alligators and a wise owl to chickens, cows, and other animals he encounters along the way.
What begins as an adventure gradually becomes a story about friendship, diversity, acceptance, and belonging.
Jay-Jay is searching for more than a destination. He is searching for a place where differences do not determine who is welcome.
A Children’s Story with a Larger Message
One of the strengths of Jay-Jay the Giraffe is its ability to introduce a serious subject through a story children can understand.
The book carries the message that it should not matter where someone comes from, what they look like, or who they are—everyone deserves a place to call home.
It also provides an opportunity for parents and educators to begin conversations about housing discrimination: the unfair practice of preventing people from living in certain communities because of race, religion, or other personal characteristics.
Rather than approaching those ideas abstractly, the story presents them through Jay-Jay’s search for a welcoming community and the animals he meets along the way.
The result is a story of adventure and friendship with a message that can resonate with both children and adults.
Recognition in the Children: Educational Category
That message makes the book’s recognition in the Children: Educational category especially fitting.
Children’s literature can do more than entertain. It can give young readers a way to encounter important ideas for the first time and provide families and teachers with a starting point for conversations about the world around them.
Through the idea of the Murphy Farm—a place where different animals can live together in peace—Dr. Murphy encourages readers to think about what it means to create communities where everyone has the opportunity to belong.
About the International AAHGS Book Awards
The International AAHGS Book Awards are presented by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
The 2026 winners represent a broad range of storytelling and scholarship, including children’s and young adult books, historical fiction, biography, genealogy, regional history, military history, and poetry.
AAHGS described the work of this year’s winning authors as demonstrating the power of storytelling to deepen genealogical and historical understanding.
We are honored that Jay-Jay the Giraffe: Looking for the Murphy Farm has been selected as one of the 2026 winners.
Congratulations, Dr. Murphy
Tapped Potential Publishing congratulates Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy on this recognition.
Creating a children’s book that is engaging on the surface while also opening the door to conversations about diversity, fairness, housing, and belonging is no small task.
We are pleased to see Jay-Jay the Giraffe: Looking for the Murphy Farm recognized by the International AAHGS Book Awards and proud to have it as part of the Tapped Potential Publishing catalog.
Award: 2026 International AAHGS Book Awards® Winner
Category: Children: Educational
Book: Jay-Jay the Giraffe: Looking for the Murphy Farm
Author: Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy
Publisher: Tapped Potential Publishing