Building diversity in British and American children's picturebooks (2000 to present)

Abstract

In recent years, the demand for diversity in children’s picturebooks and literature has increased. A number of grassroots organisations and charities, such as We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) in the USA and No Outsiders in the UK, have been established and designed specifically to tackle the under-representation of marginalised social groups and their experiences. However, scholarly research examining the quality of diversity narratives in children’s picturebooks has questioned the authenticity of these representations. Sexuality and racial identities, for example, are diluted when characters are simply assimilated into white, mainstream, middle-class, heteronormative contexts or are undermined by the inclusion of demeaning stereotypes. Focusing on a selection of Anglo-American children’s picturebooks published since 2000, this chapter explores the role played by verbal-visual representations of architecture in authenticating narratives that engage with diverse family configurations and socio-economic backgrounds.