Multicultural Diversity in Children’s Books Spurs Sales in 2015
Excellent news for the children’s book industry and multicultural diversity in kids’ books was revealed at a Nielsen Summit held in September 2015 in New York. Jonathan Nowell, president of Nielsen Book, shared the following encouraging statistics:
- Children’s book sales are up 12.6% in the US for the period between January 2014 and September 2015.
- 11 of the 20 best-selling books in the US are children’s titles.
- Print sales in the juvenile market have grown 40% in the last decade, with 5% of that market share growth in the last three years.
- Books aimed at 5-8 year olds account for 38% of all children’s book sales.
- 80% of all YA books being bought are purchased by adults.
- The growth of multicultural consumers provides statistical basis for increasing the number of multicultural titles. Today’s children under the age of nine are split 50/50 between multicultural and white.
I’m especially happy to see the last bullet re the growth of multicultural consumers. The need for diversity in children’s books has captured the attention of mainstream media. I’ve seen older statistics indicating how bookstores may be reluctant to sell multicultural titles. If that trend is changing, great news indeed!
Source: The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). October 1, 2015
The Snowy Day, which won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for Keats’ illustrations, captures the wonder of a child’s first snowfall. That child is African American—an important distinction when so many books with black protagonists are specifically about their blackness. Book cover photo courtesy of Amazon.com
