Black Characters in Children's Books

New research found 47 UK children's books published in 2025 featured Black main characters, down 7.8% from 2024.

South Asian and MENA Representation

Only 30 books featured South Asian main characters, and three books had MENA main characters, both far below their population percentages.

Minority Ethnic Representation Gap

27% of 1- to 9-year-olds are from a minoritised ethnicity, but only 5.8% of books feature such characters.

Incidental Representation Concerns

Dr Stella Louis noted books often focus on diversity as the story rather than incidental representation in everyday narratives.

“What struck me most was the continued reliance on books where diversity is the story. Festival books. Information books. Stories where a child’s difference is the main focus. Those books absolutely have a place, but I found myself wondering why we still see so little incidental representation. Why can’t a child simply be South Asian, disabled, neurodivergent or bilingual and also be the hero of an ordinary story about friendship, adventure, loss or joy?”

Disabled Representation Decline

Picture books with disabled main characters dropped by 60% to two books in 2025, with neither created by a disabled Own Voice author.

MENA Representation Issues

All three 2025 MENA books focused on refugee narratives, denying Own Voice creators ownership of their stories.

“What is even harder to swallow is the books that have been published are not Own-Voice and focus only on refugee experiences. This shows how often we’re denied ownership of our narratives while reinforcing the danger of a single story, one that defines us by war and displacement rather than our rich cultures and heritage.”

Progress in Neurodivergent Stories

Neurodivergent representation increased from three to 13 picture books, with two new Own Voice creators in baby books.