It was a calm, sunny day. Natalie decided to pick up her Harry Potter book and while she was reading, she noticed something. Everyone in the story was white! She got up, went to the library, and looked for books that contained main characters that looked like her. After searching throughout the whole library, she came to the conclusion that the majority of children’s and teens book have white protagonists. Many books lack diversity. Therefore, the research question is: How can authors improve the lack of diversity in children’s books so that children’s lives aren’t negatively affected? The lack of diversity in children’s books is caused by authors not writing books containing diverse main characters, and those specific books don’t sell as
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One main cause is that authors aren’t writing books containing diverse protagonist. According to Amy Rothschild, “Children’s and young adult literature (“kid lit”) represent a stubbornly white world even as U.S. children are increasingly people of color” (Rothschild). Another main cause of this issue is that even if they were to write books containing diverse main characters, there publically considered to be “hard sells”. They’re considered to be “hard sells” because stories containing a black protagonist are rarely sold since the majority of people in the reading business such as authors, writers, readers, and illustrators are white.Slater states, “77% of children's book buyers were white” (Slater). Since the people buying and reading the books are mainly white, it is common for authors to want to please the majority of people in order to make a …show more content…
Here are ways we can decrease the chances of lack of diversity occurring in children’s books. First, authors should continue to write diverse books and they will become less of a hard sell because over time people of color will see that their diverse backgrounds are beginning to publicly be portrayed as good members of society. Rothschild clarifies, that people such as librarians and authors are trying to improve the children’s world of literature by writing books containing colored characters and with disabilities. Rothschild repeats, “We Need Diverse Books, claims that the organization is in talks with many publishing houses, encouraging them to hire diverse interns, and that grants from We Need Diverse Books will support some candidates who could not otherwise afford to take those internships” (Rothschild). Organizations such as WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks should continue to award and acknowledge books and authors with diverse characters. Furthermore, Rothschild wants to continue to improve the way children’s books look and make sure that each person feels
One main cause is that authors aren’t writing books containing diverse protagonist. According to Amy Rothschild, “Children’s and young adult literature (“kid lit”) represent a stubbornly white world even as U.S. children are increasingly people of color” (Rothschild). Another main cause of this issue is that even if they were to write books containing diverse main characters, there publically considered to be “hard sells”. They’re considered to be “hard sells” because stories containing a black protagonist are rarely sold since the majority of people in the reading business such as authors, writers, readers, and illustrators are white.Slater states, “77% of children's book buyers were white” (Slater). Since the people buying and reading the books are mainly white, it is common for authors to want to please the majority of people in order to make a …show more content…
Here are ways we can decrease the chances of lack of diversity occurring in children’s books. First, authors should continue to write diverse books and they will become less of a hard sell because over time people of color will see that their diverse backgrounds are beginning to publicly be portrayed as good members of society. Rothschild clarifies, that people such as librarians and authors are trying to improve the children’s world of literature by writing books containing colored characters and with disabilities. Rothschild repeats, “We Need Diverse Books, claims that the organization is in talks with many publishing houses, encouraging them to hire diverse interns, and that grants from We Need Diverse Books will support some candidates who could not otherwise afford to take those internships” (Rothschild). Organizations such as WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks should continue to award and acknowledge books and authors with diverse characters. Furthermore, Rothschild wants to continue to improve the way children’s books look and make sure that each person feels