Why there is still work to be done in the world of #DiverseKidlit

Why there is still work to be done in the world of #DiverseKidlit

by Valarie Budayr

Diverse Book Review, Featured, Multicultural Booklist

July 10, 2018

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Friends, we still have so much work to do!

Here’s some information from the CCBC about diversity in kidlit. In their analysis of picture books published in 2017:

Of the approximately 3,700 books received at the CCBC in 2017, most from U.S. publishers, here’s the breakdown:

340 had significant African or African American content/characters.
- 100 of these were by Black authors and/or illustrators. (29.41% #OwnVoices)
72 had significant American Indian/First Nations content/characters.
- 38 of these were by American Indian/First Nations authors and/or illustrators. (52.78% #OwnVoices)
310 had significant Asian/Pacific or Asian/Pacific American content/characters.
- 122 of these were by authors and/or illustrators of Asian/Pacific heritage. (39.35% #OwnVoices)
216 had significant Latinx content/characters.
- 73 of these were by Latinx authors and/or illustrators. (33.8% #OwnVoices)

(The numbers will change slightly as they continue to receive a stray title or two. Check their website for up-to-date statistics, including the numbers for books from U.S. publishers only, and more on what and how they count.)

* A character in a picture book was 4 times more likely to be a dinosaur than an American Indian child.
* A character in a picture book was 2 times more likely to be a rabbit than an Asian/Pacific or Asian/Pacific American child.
* A female character in a picture book was highly likely to be wearing pink and/or a bow, even if she is a hippopotamus, an ostrich, or a dinosaur.
* A child with a disability appeared in only 21 picture books, and only 2 of those were main characters. Most others appeared in background illustrations.

That’s less than one-third of one percent of picture books published in 2017 and received by the CCBC that had the main character with a disability. No wonder I have trouble finding books I want to review!

#OwnVoices Controversy

Resources for Diverse Booklists and Authors:

KitLit411 has an excellent list of resources and publishers that focus on diverse books for kids.

View out MCBD 2018 Author Sponsors and Medallion Level Sponsors to discover even more titles and diverse book publishers.

Thanks for being part of this movement to change these statistics.

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