Almost a third of school-age children are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. But they will still struggle to find characters who resemble themselvesBooks can show us the world both as it is, and as it could be – “mirrors and windows”, as the author Malorie Blackman notes. For children, they are currently falling short on both counts. In the pages of a picture or chapter book, readers have their experience affirmed or glimpse exciting new possibilities: mastering a fear of the dark, or travelling through space. Yet a young black or Asian child picking up a book today is more likely to encounter a rabbit than a protagonist who looks like them, says the expert who has led a new review of representation, Reflecting Realities. This is astonishing in an age when 32% of school-age children are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds; and is bad news not only for them but for all young readers. Publishers are offering a dated, narrow and skewed picture of the complex, diverse, interconnected world around them.Don’t blame Beatrix Potter. This is not a historic, cumulative problem; the new research covers only books published in 2017. The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education asked publishers to submit titles with BAME characters and received fewer than 400, set against the roughly 9,000 books published for children aged three to 11. Quality and sheer variety are as important as quantity. Only 1% of titles featured a BAME lead character; in a quarter of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#bame characters
#titles featured
#bame protagonists
#white boys
This fall, four indie presses distributed by Consortium Books & Distribution are expanding beyond their well-established adult niches by publishing books for young readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing books
#young readers
See our editors' selection of eagerly awaited children's and YA books for the coming season. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#anticipated children
#ya books
#coming season
Non-profit organisation We Need Diverse Books has kicked off its campaign to launch a UK branch to improve diversity and representation in children’s books, as Knights Of co-founder Aimée Felone said the project needs industry-wide support. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-30 15:42:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#diverse books
#non-profit organisation
Scholastic’s Strawberrie Donnelly has joined Bloomsbury Children’s Books in the newly created role of art director. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 03:23:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#art director
#bloomsbury children’s
#bloomsbury
Artist and "Press Here" author Hervé Tullet launches an interactive art-making project, Ideal Exhibition, at ICA LA in downtown L.A. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-26 10:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#children's book
The U.S. Women’s National Team co-captain reportedly signed with Penguin Press for a book about her life AND with Razorbill for a book for young people. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-07-25 17:42:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#penguin press
#book deal
Surely the book missing from every child’s bedtime routine is an alphabetical retrospective of Metallica. No? Well, we’re getting one, anyway. The heavy-metal band is filling that presumed void by releasing an illustrated children’s book titled “The ABCs of Metallica” this fall — introducing... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-11 17:25:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#illustrated children
#book titled
#children’s book
With token redemptions up three per cent year on year and sales of the £1 books topping seven figures, World Book Day 2019 has been hailed a success by its organisers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-08 08:19:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#world book
Critical Linking, a daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web, is sponsored by Book Riot’s ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-07-07 10:30:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#beautiful libraries
#critical linking
#daily roundup
#book lover
#libraries
The Society of Authors has launched a £5,000 book prize for ‘quirky’ illustrated books for children aged 0-7. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 18:13:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#illustrated books
#illustrated children
#book prize
Macmillan Children’s Books (MCB) has acquired two novels by Padraig Kenny at auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 11:47:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#books mcb
#macmillan children
#macmillan
Rachel Syme writes on “The Saga of Baby Divine,” Bette Midler’s best-selling autobiographical children’s book, from 1983. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2019-06-25 19:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bette midler
#children’s book
Sarah Larson writes about the illustrator Gyo Fujikawa, whose children’s books celebrated the beauty and power of the natural world and the earthly pleasures of the people walking around in it. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2019-06-21 19:01:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#natural world
#people walking
#children’s book
Booksellers weigh in on the controversial issue of publishers postponing and pulling books in response to criticism. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookseller
#children’s book
Marketing for World Book Day boosted titles we find on April's China bestseller lists. And Albert Camus' 1942 'L'Étranger' charts for the first time. The post China Bestsellers for April: World Book Day Promos, Liu Cixin, and Camus appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-05 05:30:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#albert camus
#china bestsellers
#liu cixin
Thursday morning's Adult Book & Author Breakfast featured Rachel Maddow, Malcolm Gladwell, Karin Slaughter, Marjorie Liu, and Ta-Nehisi Coates introducing their newest books, with presentations emphasizing the true crimes that inspired each to write. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#crime pays
#literary world
#thursday morning
#malcolm gladwell
#karin slaughter
#marjorie liu
#true crimes
Delegates to the IPA Nairobi seminar will hear about the work of Puku, a foundation rushing to generate children's books in endangered African languages. The post South Africa’s Puku Foundation: Children’s Books To Save Languages appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-05-28 05:30:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#south africa
Tom Burlison from Epsom, who is seven years old, has won this year’s Bedtime Story Competition, ran by Save the Children and The Book People. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-28 01:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book people
Pamela Jenoff, Kate Quinn and other authors talk about how they find inspiration for their novels. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-05-24 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#authors talk
#books coming
#kate quinn
#find inspiration