Children’s books with Black main characters down 8% in a year, study shows
Black children make up about 8.5% of that age bracket in England and Wales.Representation of south Asian main characters fell by 14.3 percentage points to 1.4%, despite children of south Asian heritage making up about 12.4% of the population of under-10s. Just three books featured main characters of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) heritage, down 50% from the previous year. This represented 0.1% of surveyed books, compared with the group’s 2.2% share of the population.The research by the literacy charity found that only 150 books – 6.9% of those surveyed – featured main characters from minority ethnic, disabled or neurodivergent backgrounds.
- ▪Black children make up about 8.5% of that age bracket in England and Wales.Representation of south Asian main characters fell by 14.3 percentage points to 1.4%, despite children of south Asian heritage making up about 12.4% of the populatio
- ▪Just three books featured main characters of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) heritage, down 50% from the previous year.
- ▪This represented 0.1% of surveyed books, compared with the group’s 2.2% share of the population.The research by the literacy charity found that only 150 books – 6.9% of those surveyed – featured main characters from minority ethnic, disable
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/05/childrens-books-with-black-main-characters-down-study-uk |
| Publication time | Sun, 04 Oct 2026 23:01:40 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-04T23:11:02.585Z |
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Just 47 of the 2,189 books published for under-10s in 2025 featured a Black main character, Photograph: MBI/AlamyView image in fullscreenJust 47 of the 2,189 books published for under-10s in 2025 featured a Black main character, Photograph: MBI/AlamyChildren and teenagersChildren’s books with Black main characters down 8% in a year, study showsOnly 150 of 2,189 titles published in UK for young children last year focused on minority ethnic, disabled or neurodivergent charactersEmma LoffhagenSun 4 Oct 2026 19.01 EDTLast modified on Sun 4 Oct 2026 19.03 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe number of children’s books featuring Black main characters fell by almost 8% last year, according to research into diversity in UK publishing.Just 47 – or 2.1% – of the 2,189 books published for…
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