Adults say Multicultural Picture Books Are Important for Children, but 1/3 Say They're Hard to Find - somersault

Adults say Multicultural Picture Books Are Important for Children, but 1/3 Say They're Hard to Find

Shelf Awareness (@ShelfAwareness) reports “a solid majority of adults in the US believe in the importance of multicultural picture books for children, but many find it difficult to obtain them.” According to a recent survey commissioned by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, 78% say they believe it’s important for children to be exposed to picture books that feature main characters of various ethnicities or races, while 33% report it’s difficult to find such books.

The survey also shows 73% of parents and 49% of adults have purchased a children's picture book with a protagonist of a different race or ethnicity from the child who will be reading the book, while only 10% consider it important to match the race or ethnicity of the main character of a picture book to the race or ethnicity of the child who will be receiving the book.

The factors adults consider when selecting a children's picture book are:

Interesting stories (62%)
Important lessons (61%)
Eye-catching pictures (41%)

Read the survey news release.

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