How Diverse is Children’s Literature?

By Imogen Hollins

If you look back at your childhood, you will probably remember cosy times, cuddled up with a book at bedtime, either reading independently or being read a story. Bedtime stories, however, are not just a lovely ending to the day, these bedtime stories are a safe way to experience and discuss all sorts of feelings and situations.

These stories, therefore, should not only reflect the child’s own life, but also give them a safe way to learn about someone else’s life. When children identify with different communities and genders, it helps them learn about themselves and feel like they belong in the world. It is important that diversity in literature goes beyond ethnicity. Diversity should include various facets of sexuality, gender, appearance, disabilities, language, religion, and culture. A variety of lives and experiences need to be explored in children’s literature to help them accept themselves and others. Done correctly, this type of literature can serve as a powerful message to enable children to understand themselves, others, and gain the sensitivity needed to negotiate the modern world.

According to the National Literary Trust, books help children develop basic language skills and expand their vocabulary much more than any other media. They say that fiction and non-fiction books widen a child’s consciousness: ‘they expand our universe beyond time and place and inspire our own original thoughts’ (NLT).

In the 2011 Census, 13% of the UK population (over 8 million people) identified themselves as Black, Asian or from another ethnic minority. In 2019 the Annual Population Survey estimated that 1 in 25 of the population over 16 identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. According to Mencap there are 193 thousand children in the UK with a learning disability, and 750 thousand children are disabled. In the NCBLA survey of January to March 2020, they sought the opinions of

58,346 children aged between 9 – 18. The opinions of the children in the study concluded that: • 32.7% did not see themselves in what they read and 39.8% would like more books with characters similar to them

• 37.3% of children from poorer backgrounds didn’t see themselves in what they read • 44.3 % of those who describe their gender as not boy or girl said they didn’t see themselves in the books they read.

The need to publish books on diversity has now been recognised, but since 2020 only 7% of children’s books in the UK feature characters of colour. There are many publishing houses who are trying to remedy the situation, actively publishing books with diverse role models, books which actively teach about diversity and inclusion. It is important that these books are not written under one category, not just about a disabled child or a black child; these books should try and inspire the reader on many different levels and not under or over represent narratives. The feminist poet Audre Lorde said: “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single–issue lives”.

Unfortunately, diverse books are not mainstream and there are different reasons for this; publishing houses have believed that multicultural books will not sell, that they will be deemed to be just for and enjoyed by socalled minorities, rather than all children. Although the call for more diverse books is there, the pull of profit and the lack of knowledge and acceptance by editors and publishers means that the safe option of the tried and tested will be more readily available on the bookshelves. The book industry - from publishing to literary festivals and prize committees - is seen to be intransigently white, middle class, and often male led.

With some way still to go until books on diversity are mainstream, what are children currently reading, and how is this influencing their view of the world? In a survey conducted on behalf of the charity Booktrust, the results showed that more and more parents were actively choosing ‘modern’ books, but interestingly 7 out of 10 parents still chose to read fairy tales to their children.

Today, fairy tales are demonised by many for their use of stereotypes and how they promote racism and sexism. Recently the singer Alicia Keys said she would not let her children read or watch Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs due to its sexist portrayal of Snow White and its misogynistic theme. Fairy tales and fables have been popular for thousands of years - a version of Cinderella dates back to 860 AD in China. In history, they did not all feature a “damsel in distress”; in 1740, Beauty and the Beast is told in a different way and ‘Belle’ kills the beast. These stories are important and have deep roots in every culture around the world. They have been important to us and have reflected our lives, hopes, and fears for generations.

Sally Goddard Blythe the director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology says that fairy tales “develop imagination and creativity, and they help children understand their own emotional dilemmas in an imaginative way’ and ‘help them understand firstly the quirks and weaknesses of human behaviour in general, and secondly, to accept many of their own fears and emotions” (PsychCentral 2020).

Today, fairy tales are being re-written. In her collection Fierce Fairytales: & other Stories to Stir Your Soul, author Nikita Gill has changed the protagonists, such that in her versions of the tales, Sleeping Beauty is awake, and Cinderella’s mother begs her daughter to stand up to her abusers and she advocates the reader to be true to themselves. Gill says “we are teaching [them] to respect themselves and take responsibility for their own choices and decisions”.

Books strengthen our self-confidence and help us to understand who we are. They help us work out where we come from, and importantly, where we want to go. They help us connect and empathise, helping a child work out the world before they have to experience it. Unlike the media, reading takes us to a world where we alone decide what we think about book we are reading, there is no one looking over our shoulder telling us what we should think.

I believe that fairy stories have their place, alongside diverse and inclusive children’s literature. Both genres should give a child the chance to dream and inspire, give them a safe place to examine the world, and give them the tools to take on life. It seems that we need more books which reflect our changing world; books which celebrate feminism, challenge racism, and keep up with the changing nature of our society. We shouldn’t, however, leave the job of ‘teaching’ our children to others, through any type of media. Is it right that Alicia Keys cuts out a whole section of children’s literature, and wouldn’t it be more useful to take on its positives and give our children the tools to question its negatives? I believe it is our job as ‘future parents’ to equip ourselves with what is needed, to be open minded, and guide our children to help prepare them for a successful future.