Publishing Statistics on Children's Books about People of Color and First/Native Nations and
by People of Color and First/Native Nations
Authors and Illustrators

Documented by the Cooperative Children's Book Center
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison

(Questions about this information? Contact CCBC Director Kathleen T. Horning)

History

In 1985 the Cooperative Children's Book Center began to document the numbers of books we received each year that were written and/or illustrated by African Americans. Then-CCBC Director Ginny Moore Kruse was serving as a member of the Coretta Scott King Award Committee that year, and we were appalled to learn that, of the approximately 2,500 trade books that were published in 1985, only 18 were created by African Americans, and thus eligible for the Coretta Scott King Award.

As a statewide book examination center serving Wisconsin, the CCBC receives the majority of new U.S. trade books published for children and teens each year. In the early years of gathering these statistics, we used the CCBC's collections and worked in conjunction with the Coretta Scott King Award Task Force of the American Library Association, to document the number of books by and about African Americans published annually.

Starting in 1994 we began also keeping track of the numbers of books by Asian/Pacific and Asian/Pacific American, First/Native Nation and Latino book creators as well. We also began documenting not only the number of books created by people of color and First/Native Nations authors and illstrators, but the number of books about people of color and First/Native Nations, including the many titles that have been created by white authors and/or illustrators.

What We Count

We examine everything that comes into the CCBC annually in order to determine what gets counted. This includes picture books, novels, and non-fiction. We receive hardcover and, these days, more and more original paperback trade books typically available for sale to public schools and public libraries, as well as some (but not all) series/formula non-fiction titles (e.g., a "Countries of the World" series including  titles such as Kenya and Venezuela). We do not include reprints of previously issued books in our count.

As noted above, the CCBC receives most of the trade books published annually in the United States. The titles the CCBC receives also include a limited number of series or formula non-fiction books, and books from several Canadian publishers that distribute in the United States, and these have also been included in our multicultural counts when applicable. More recently, we've begun receiving a small number of books distributed by a few U.S. trade publishers with a U.S. price label, but not in a U.S. edition.

Beginning in 2002 we began providing information on the number of books we receive each year, on which the statistics are based. Beginning in 2015, in addition to providing documentation based on the total number of books we received, we will document numbers coming just from U.S. publishers (in other words, eliminating the Canadian and other books that aren't U.S. editions.)

How We Count

The four broad groupings we use do not represent cultural specificity; we track this in the annual records we keep listing the individual titles. Our Latino log, for example, is organized by specific region and then country or heritage group within it, so a book about a Cuban American child, or a book about or set in the Domincan Republic or Mexico, is recorded as such. A book about Aztec people living in Mexico would be recorded in both the American Indian and Latino logs.

We count a book as "about" if the main character/subject is a person of color, or if we are able to determine based on examining a book that a person of color features significantly in the narrative. So a novel in which the main character is white will be included if we are able to determine a secondary character of color is important in the story. We do not count a book if the principle character is white and there are a range of secondary characters, including characters of color, but none of the characters of color seem to play a significant role. This is, of course, somewhat subjective; we talk about the books that we can't easily discern. We do not want to misrepresent a book as having multicultural content; likewise, we make every effort not to miss those that do.

In recent years, we have seen more fiction with diverse casts of characters, or picture books with no specific cultural content but featuring a character of color, and this has impacted our numbers. Likewise, paperback series publishing has had an impact on the numbers, as had the fact that some publishers outside the realm of traditional trade books are now sending us their titles because they are aware that we are maintaining these statistics.

The multicultural content across the books about people of color and First/Native Nations represented by the numbers we document varies widely with regard to accuracy and authenticity.  Additionally, the number of books we document each year created by authors and illustrators of color does not represent the number of individual book creators of color—often a single individual has written or illustrated more than one book published in a given year. And not every book created by an author or illustrator of color, counted in the "by" cateogry, contains cultural content. If it doesn't, it is not included in the "about" number. Likewise, if a book about an African American family is illustrated by a Chinese American illustrator, it would be counted as "by" in the Asian Pacific category, and "about" in the African American category. If the author of the book is Black, then the book would also be counted in the "by" category for Africans and African Americans.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

Does that mean the remaining books are all about white people? No. Even though we don't document the number of books about white people, we know there are certainly picture books books published every year featuring animal characters or trucks or other high-interest topics; and nonfiction about aspects of the natural world, etc. But what we know from being immersed in children's and young adult literature each and every day is that white people are not notably, or even noticably, lacking in books for children and teens. However, CCBC Director Kathleen Horning did do a mid-year check in 2013. You can read what she found on the CCBC blog.

More important, what the low numbers for multicultural literature mean is that publishing for children and teens has a long way to go before reflecting the rich diversity of perspectives and experiences within and across race and culture.

The numbers are far from the only important thing to consider when it comes to multicultural publishing for children and teens, of course. The books themselves matter. And every year we see amazing books by and about people of color and First/Native Nations people published. There just aren't enough of them. The more books there are, especially books created by authors and Illustrators of color, the more opportunities librarians, teachers, and parents and other adults have of finding outstanding books for young readers and listeners that reflect dimensions of their lives, and give a broader understanding of who we are as a nation.

Making a Difference

Across the years, we've seen evidence of the importance of small, independently owned publishers as contributors to a significant body of authentic multicultural literature for children in the United States and Canada. The commitment of individual editors at both large and small publishing houses also has made an impact.

We have also noted the importance of children's book awards in calling attention to outstanding work created by and about people of color and First/Native Nations people. We enourage you to visit our multicultural literature page for links to mulitulcultural literarture awards and other resources.

And we know the difference we all can make in purchasing and sharing books by people of color and FIrst/Native Nations individuals in our professional and personal lives. Sales matter to publishing. The books themselves matter to children and teens, who deserve to see the rich diversity of their lives and the world in which they live reflected in the books around them each and every day.

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Note: in addition to compiling annual statistics, we also include an essay sharing our observations about the publishing year in the introduction to each edition of CCBC Choices, our annual best of the year list, and this always includes comments on multicultural publishing. (Recent essays.) The statistics below may not always correspond to those in the Choices commentary for that publishing year. Discrepancies occur when we receive books after the deadline for including the numbers in the print publication. The table below represents the most accurate accounting. We update these statistis as additional titles trickle in.

Children's Books By and About People of Color and First/Native Nations Received by the CCBC* 2002 - See next chart for count of books from U.S publishers only Last Updated: April 5, 2016

Year	Number of Books Received at CCBC	African / African Americans		American Indians / First Nations		Asian Pacifics/ Asian Pacific Americans		Latinos
		By	About	By	About	By	About	By	About
2015	3,400	106	269	19	42	176	113	58	82
2014	3,500	84	180	20	38	129	112	59	66
2013	3,200	68	93	18	34	90	69	48	57
2012	3,600	68	119	6	22	83	76	59	54
2011	3,400	79	123	12	28	76	91	52	58
2010	3,400	102	156	9	22	60	64	55	66
2009	3,000	83	157	12	33	67	80	60	61
2008	3,000	83	172	9	40	77	98	48	79
2007	3,000	77	150	6	44	56	68	42	59
2006	3,000	87	153	14	41	72	74	42	63
2005	2,800	75	149	4	34	60	64	50	76
2004	2,800	99	143	7	33	61	65	37	61
2003	3,200	79	171	11	95	43	78	41	63
2002	3,150	69	166	6	64	46	91	48	94

Children's Books By and About People of Color and First/Native Nations Received by the CCBC*--US Publishers Only 2015 - Last Updated: March 4, 2016

Year	Number of Books Received at CCBC from US Pubs (est)	African / African Americans		American Indians / First Nations		Asian Pacifics/ Asian Pacific Americans		Latinos
		By	About	By	About	By	About	By	About
2015	3,200	105	243	9	28	156	107	56	78

Children's Books By and About People of Color and First/Native Nations Received by the CCBC* 1994-2001

Year	Estimated Total Number of Books Published	African / African-Americans		Asian Pacific / Asian Pacific Americans	American Indian	Latinos
		By	About	By and About	By and About	By and About
2001	5,000-5,500	99	201	96	60	77
2000	5,000-5,500	96	147	57	40	54
1999	5,000	81	150	61	41	64
1998	5,000	96	188	52	55	73
1997	4,500-5000	88	216	66	64	88
1996	4,500	92	172	49	50	103
1995	4,500	100	167	91	83	70
1994	4,500	82	166	65	70	90

Children's Books By Black Authors and Illustrators Published in the United States 1985-1993

Year	Estimated Number of Books Published	Total Number of Books by Black Authors and Illustrator
1993	4,500	74
1992	4,500	94
1991	4,000	70
1990	5,000	51
1989	4,000	48
1988	3,000	39
1987	3,000	30
1986	3,000	18
1985	2,500	18

*As noted in the narrative above, we receive the majority of new books published annually by U.S. trade book publishers. Some of what we receive also comes from educational and small presses. We also receive some books from Canadian publishers distributing in the United States, or from or other countrries outside the U.S. that are distributed by U.S publishers (e.g., Penguin Australia). Beginning with 2015, we are providing a separate chart that looks at U.S.-only publishing (eliminating books from publishers in Canada or other countries. U.S. editions of books published in other countries are included in both counts.)