There has been quite a bit of press regarding the need for more diverse children's literature. The We Need Diverse Books movement has developed into a nonprofit organization designed to advocate for more diversity in children's book publishing.
To put some numbers behind this, the Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison reviewed books received by the library each year beginning in 1985. In the first year of the review, of the 2500 books reviewed, 18 were by African American authors or illustrators. Fast forward almost 30 years later to 2013, and of the 3200 books reviewed, only 68 were written by African American authors and 93 were about African American characters; this means a little less than 3% of books published for children were about African Americans (though they represent over 15% of the student population in the US). Other racial/ethnic groups do not fair any better: by (18) and about (34) American Indians, by (90) and about (69) Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans, and by (48) and about (57) Latinos. In total, Though the student population in US schools is mostly nonwhite, our books are about people of color in only 8% of books published in 2013.
Though as teachers we don't control what gets published, we do have a say in what libraries purchase, what books we ask for in public libraries, what we suggest to students that they read, and what we look for in bookstores. If you need help determining some high-quality diverse titles for your classroom library, check out the resources here. You can also download the free literary magazine focused on promoting diversity in children's literature to your tablet read about more great resources.
It's time to put the pressure on the publishing companies by letting them know that diverse books are in demand. Working together as a school to increase the diverse titles in classroom and school libraries is an essential part of helping students see their place in the world.
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