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Report finds greater diversity in US children’s books

In the US, the Cooperative Children’s Books Centre (CCBC) has released figures indicating US children’s books embraced greater diversity in 2014, reports Publishers Weekly. The CCBC figures report significant increases in the number of publications with African or African-American content, which nearly doubled from 93 titles in 2013 to 179 in 2014, and the number of books with Asian/Pacific or Asian/Pacific-American content, which increased from 69 titles in 2013 to 112 in 2014. Books with Latino content saw a smaller increase, with 57 titles in 2013 rising to 66 in 2014. However, books with American-Indian content stayed nearly flat with 34 titles in 2013 and 36 in 2014. The report also found an increase in the number of books by people of colour across all of the four previously mentioned demographics. CCBC director Kathleen T Horning said in a statement: ‘Even though the data we collect indicates children’s literature in this country continues to represent a mostly white world, we see signs that things are changing.’ However, the grassroots diversity movement We Need Diverse Books noted that the CCBC data indicates only ‘minimal growth’ over the past few decades.

 

Category: International news