When it comes to diversity, children's books are sorely lacking; instead of presenting a representative range of faces, they're overwhelmingly white. How bad is the disconnect?
When kids are presented with bookshelves that are unbalanced, parents can have a powerful influence. Take 8-year-old Havana Machado, who likes Dr. Seuss and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. At her mothers' insistence, Havana also has lots of books featuring strong Latinas, like Josefina and Marisol from the American Girl Doll books. She says she likes these characters because, with their long, dark hair and olive skin, they look a lot like her.
Only a small fraction of children's books have main characters that are Latino or Native American or black or Asian. And it's been that way for a very long time. In 1965, The Saturday Review ran an article with the headline "The All-White World of Children's Books" — and the topic is still talked about today, nearly 50 years later.
Bad News For Outlaws tells the true story of Bass Reeves, an African-American U.S. Marshal in the Old West — shown here disguised as a farmer. The book won a Coretta Scott King award and became one of Lerner Books' best-selling titles.
So why is diversity in children's books such a persistent issue? One theory is that it's all about money. "I think there is a lot of concern and fear that multicultural literature is not going to sell enough to sustain a company," says Megan Schliesman, a librarian with the Cooperative Children's Book Center.
But Schliesman says that belief is a myth — after all, some companies publish multicultural children's books and are profitable. For instance, Lerner Books published the nonfiction picture book Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal. The book, which told the story of a black lawman in the Old West, won awards, got attention from libraries and independent bookstores and became a best-seller for the company.
"There is an enormous amount of demand for this kind of content from libraries," says Andrew Karre, an editor with Lerner Books. According to Karre, public and school librarians try very hard to put books with a wide range of characters on their shelves.
Why Diverse Book Options Matter
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson wrote Bad News For Outlaws, as well as several other books about African-Americans. She is also a librarian at the public library in Rio Rancho, N.M. She says that young people need to see themselves represented on the page so that they will continue reading.Nelson says she understands that publishers are going to respond to what the market demands. Right now, the vast majority of best-selling children's books are by and about white people. But as the U.S. population changes, Melinda Machado thinks the books American children read will change too.
Publishers might want to catch up a lot sooner, though. According to new data from the Census Bureau, nearly half of today's children under 5 years old are non-white.
18 Comments on Why do Kids' Books Stay Overwhelmingly White?, last added: 9/5/2013
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Good post! Publishers need to remember this (and their marketers as well, since there has been controversy in YA about some book covers being changed).
Nancy,<br /><br />You are a brave soul to write about this important topic. Yes indeed, books should represent are current population. This is the reason I self-published my first book. I wanted the main character Marie, to be black. I am hopeful things will change in the near future. Thanks so much for posting this, you rock!<br /><br />Nicole Weaver<br />Award-winning Trilingual Author<br /
I just read Hold Fast by Blue Balliett, which is a great novel published by Scholastic. The characters happen to be African-American. But, you're right, there are very few books about minority kids available. I wonder if that's because most writers are White.
Nancy, one of the reasons I believe there is such a poor response to "other population" books is not due to disinterest in the subject matter but often it has an economic source. Children from Black and Latino homes often have less discretionary funds for the purchase of books. These homes do not have magazine subscriptions and other reading materials around the house.Their parents do
Yes, Kathy, I know this has happened. I do wish some publishers would be more sensitive to this issue. Everyone would win!
Thanks, Nicole, for your kind words. It is an issue that needs to be addressed and addressed again until things change. So interesting what you've said here about your first book. Also interesting that GAP was eager to take it! All Houses should be so enclusive...
I do think part of that is the reason. I've also heard over and over that publishers won't take a chance on black or Hispanic protagonists yet. Surely that will change in the near future with our population changes!<br /><br />Thanks, as usual, Janet!
Yes, I do think finances play into the outcome of which we're speaking. I do, though, think it's just one of the many reasons. If we writers write about a protagonist of color, that will go a long way to right these slights.<br /><br />Thanks, Terry, for your continuing support!
As a teacher, I'm sensitive to "fair play," and called on boys & girls alternately, to be fair & equal. The same for for books. It's up to teachers to find multicultural books & showcase them to their students -- especially since minority families have less income to buy books. And we have to write for a multi-cultural audience, & promote them in schools. Kids
Thanks for your comment, Penny. writing for diverse families is an inherently good thing and should be taken seriously. Also, when teachers model this multi-cultural behavior, it sets such a good example for all students.]]Thanks!
Great content matter Nancy. I think it would be a great service to children if publishers would make the characters in most children's books multicultural. Unless it is an ethnic book I don't see why they should not. All children love to identify with the characters in a book, and building self esteem is part of a child saying, " that could be me, and I could do that just like her
Nancy,<br /><br />I liked what Lynda did with my books. The kids can easily be biracial. The same is true with my soon to be published MY BROTER IS MY BEST FRIEND.
There certainly are not as many books as there should be. At this point I don't know of any publisher who isn't looking for multicultural books. It's their biggest demand. At pen and Ink, three of us are writing books with "non white" (what a weird word!) Lupe's books all have Hispanic main characters. Hilde's YA book Wet Foot, Dry Foot has Cuban heroines. My book
Absolutely kids should be able to see themselves in books! I remember the days when children of color had no dolls that "looked like them." That always bothered me. Happily, that situation has been remedied. It's time for books to do the same, and teachers are part of the solution.<br /><br />Thanks!
Thanks, Susan. And, of course, marketing is what drives book acquisition and sales. The other part, and I knew this when writing the Bella and Britt books, is many publishers won't take them, because they feel anything but "white" won't sell as well. That has to end.<br /><br />Thanks, as always, Susan.
It's interesting, because I actually thought of Lupe when putting this post together! I wish you all the greatest success with your cutting edge books. I'm so delighted to read what you are all doing. Kudos to you!
Interesting information, Nancy. When I wrote Little Shepherd, I didn't consider race or ethnicity simply because I wanted all kids to relate to the story. The character, as a shepherd boy at the time of Christ's birth, would be Middle Eastern. His struggles, however, could pertain to any young person.
Interesting post and comments. Considering the ever evolving population across the worlds it certainly is imperative that all ethnics are represented in children's book, making it easier for all to relate and to learn to love to read because the reader can relate.