Since the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, it seems like more people are working on diversity… In the children’s publishing industry we hear that everyone is trying. But the results are not happening fast enough. Do mainstream publishers understand what the end goal is?
What I would like to see in the children’s section of the book shop are diverse characters on front covers. Diverse meaning different, varied, distinct. Characters of all different ethnicities, with disabilities and all family types represented.
When book shops look more like this, we can just, you know BUY BOOKS. We won’t have to specifically google ‘children’s books with two dads’ or have to look for a ‘BAME’ section.
The Reflecting Realities report from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education showed a 1% increase of diverse characters in children’s books last year. And that just isn’t enough. There is such a long way to go before we can say we are reflecting society.
