currently reading 📚💫 ⁣ __⁣ A few months ago, I came across a 2018 statistic breaking down the percentage of books depicting characters based on identity/background, and I’ve been thinking about it since.⁣ ⁣⁣ 50% White⁣⁣ 27% Animals/Other ⁣⁣ 10% Black⁣⁣ 7% Asian Pacific/Islander American ⁣⁣ 5% Latinx ⁣⁣ 1% Indigenous/American Indians/First Nations⁣⁣ (src: @sljournal swipe for 2015/2018 infographics & I can’t remember OP but please tag them so I can credit properly.)⁣ ⁣ I didn’t find the numbers shocking considering the only book I read about an Asian kid growing up was “Tikki Tikki Tembo” 😑 but I found them very disappointing given the year we’re in. We need to diversify our bookshelves to show BIPOC children that they too matter; they too can be the main character; they too can be heroes representationmatters — yet the stats prove the books are hard to find (as my stories showed today). Don’t let this stop you, writers and publishers need to know the demand is there. And it’s more than buying a few books showing diverse faces, it’s also actively find books where the story is about a BIPOC child as the main character. It’s important for kids to see themselves as the main character but also important for them to understand that children who don’t look like them can be the main character too. When we build a diverse space, we acknowledge, see, or hear others but we must also demand inclusion in that space so we learn to respect *and value* others too. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ see @theconsciouskid @hereweeread @diversereads for more inclusive book ideas ⁣❣️ ⁣ books from: @ellieandbecks.co but also check @whyandwhale @shopmercimilo @esowonbooks @ashaybythebay http://liketk.it/2T7ZI liketkit @liketoknow.it