Wednesday, June 21, 2023
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) released its 2022 Diversity Statistics on the number of books received by the CCBC by and about Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). According to the CCBC, this year’s statistics show a 7 year continuing positive trend of the number of diverse books for children and teens.
“This is encouraging and, if this trend continues, we may soon see a world in which publishing for children and teens consistently reflects the rich diversity of perspectives and experiences within and across race and culture,” says former Department of Public Instruction Assistant State Superintendent for the Division for Libraries and Technology and current CCBC Director Tessa Michaelson Schmidt.
The latest data shows 40 percent of total books the CCBC received in 2022 have at least one creator (e.g., author, illustrator, or compiler) who is BIPOC. In addition, 46 percent of the books the CCBC received have significant BIPOC content, and 39 percent have at least one BIPOC primary character.
If looking for a list of books to recommend to young readers reflecting diversity, the CCBC issues its best-of-the-year list annually highlighting a wide range of diverse titles.
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) is a unique examination, study, and research library of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The CCBC is also funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction through the Division for Libraries and Technology.