Statistics to help promote representation in children’s books
If you are from an ethnic minority background or have children you will know that the lack of diverse characters in children’s books is an ongoing issue. The Cooperative Children’s Book Centre in the US as well as the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) in the UK publish stats on the representation in children’s books on a yearly basis to help raise awareness of the issue.
Click here to see the recent statistics. You will see that roughly 66% of main characters in children’s books are white/animals/objects. Leaving some many children from other groups underrepresented.
These statistics are produced to help inspire BIPOC creatives to bridge the gaps, educate parents, schools, etc. on the importance of having diverse representation in children’s books. There are also used by creatives like myself to help inspire BIPOC creatives to tell their stories and help ensure there is representation in children’s books.
Why the lack of diverse books?
The reason as to why we have the problem today is because traditional publishers previously only hired Caucasian writers, illustrators, editors, etc. and therefore it was not evident them that other groups were not represented. For this reason the majority of BIPOC creatives resorted to self-publishing to be able to tell their stories.
Why I self-published?
Diverse and inclusive books educate children to see others as equals even with differences, this teaches them valuable lessons and acts as a preventative measure to displays of racism and stereotyping. By self-publishing I am trying to do my part in helping educating kids and contributing towards a safer more positive environment for kids. I wanted to make sure all kids were represented, kids are taught about the importance of self-love and have books available in as many languages as possible. CLICK HERE to read more about my story and my main reason for creating diverse bilingual resources.
My motivation
When I became a mother to biracial children’s this lack of representation children’s books became apparent to me. I bought and was gifted so many books and could not find books with children who looked like my daughter or her friends. Because it is important for our kids to be able to see themselves represented in books, movies, toys, etc. I took it upon myself to create children’s books myself and self-publish.
There are so many reasons why representation in children’s books matters, but here are the top 7 reasons:
- They empower creatives to tell their story
- Improves kids self-worth/self-confidence
- Helps reduce stereotypes
- Helps improve academic skills
- Provides a mirror to identity
- Kids who learn about different cultures early on feel more comfortable and safe with their differences
- Because diversity is everyone’s story
