Deconstructing the Debate about the Lack of Diversity in Young Adult Literature

Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Specialist, NJ State Library srawlins@njstatelib.org

2014 Adolescent Summer Literacy Institute, William Paterson University

•What does diverse content in literature mean to you?

Publishing decision makers define it as:

Stories that go beyond the white heterosexualmiddle class (literary agent Barry Goldblatt)

Centers on community, including ethnic, religious, LGBTQ (Angus Killick, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)

From SLJ’s The Diversity Issue, May 2014, “The Publishing Perspective” by Karen Springen, pg. 21-24

While people of color make up about 37% of the population in the United States, less than 10% of books feature diverse characters.

Statistics Gathered by the Cooperative Children's Book CenterSchool of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Year Total Numberof Books

Published (Est.)

Number of BooksReceivedat CCBC

African / African Americans

American IndiansAsian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans Latinos

By About By About By About By About

2013 5,000 3,200 68 93 18 34 90 69 48 57

Children's Books By and About People of Color Published in the U.S.

Statistics Gathered by the Cooperative Children's Book CenterSchool of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison

NJ Census White 73.8% 77.9%

Black or African American 14.7% 13.1%

American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% 1.2%

Asian9.0%

5.1%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander0.1% 0.2%

Two or more races1.9% 2.4%

Hispanic or Latino18.5% 16.9% (separate from the concept of

Hispanic origin)

White alone 58.2% 63.0%

(respondents who said "No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino)

Age distribution of people with daily activity limitations in New Jersey, 2009

Here are eight steps to all-inclusive reading proposed by Lee & Low Books:• Does your book list or collection include books with characters of color? LGBTQ?

Differently-abled?• Does it include books with a main character of color? LGBTQ? Differently-abled?• Does it include books written or illustrated by a person of color? Of different

nationalities, religions or sexual preference?• Are there any books with a person of color on the cover? Do the characters on

the book covers accurately reflect the characters in the book?• Think about your student population. Does your list provide a mix of

“mirror” books and “window” books for your students—books in which they can see themselves reflected and books in which they can learn about others?

• Think about the subject matter of your diverse books. Do all your books featuring black characters focus on slavery? Do all your books about Latino characters focus on immigration? Are all your LGBTQ books coming out stories?

• Do you have any books featuring diverse characters that are not primarily about race or prejudice?

• Consider your classic books, both fiction and nonfiction. Do any contain hurtful racial or ethnic stereotypes , or images (e.g. Little House on the Prairie or The Indian in the Cupboard)? If so, how will you address those stereotypes with students? Have you included another book that provides a more accurate depiction of the same culture?

#Weneeddiversebooks campaign ((http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/)

Take these Reading Challenges:

“Diversity on the Shelf” (http://bit.ly/1h34M54)“Latin@s in KidLit” (http://bit.ly/1dy5tm4)“Africa Reading Challenge” (http://tinyurl.com/ka2scaw)

For Middle School

Readers

Nonfiction for Grades 6 - 12

For Young Adult Readers

Books featuring differently-abled

characters

Books featuring LGBTQ or non-heterosexual, or non-cisgendered characters

Books set in or about Haiti (as an example of books on a common theme to tie into CCSS)

The End

Thank You!