Children’s books with Black main characters fell 8% last year, study finds

The number of children’s books in the UK featuring Black main characters fell by nearly 8% last year, according to a study revealing a widening gap between what young children read and the world they live in.

Just 47 of the 2,189 books published for under-10s in 2025 featured a Black lead, according to research by the literacy charity Inclusive Books for Children. That represents 2.1% of the total, down 7.8% from the previous year. By contrast, Black children make up about 8.5% of that age bracket in England and Wales.

Author Sheena Patel said it is vital that young children have access to books "that reflect both the lives they live and the ones they don’t," adding that publishers "must do better" at a time when children are figuring out where they fit in.

Falling representation across minority groups

The decline was not limited to Black protagonists. Representation of South Asian main characters fell to 1.4%, despite South Asian children making up 12.4% of the under-10 population.

Only three books published last year featured main characters of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) heritage. This was a 50% drop from the previous year, leaving MENA characters with a 0.1% share of surveyed books, compared to their 2.2% share of the population.

In total, only 150 books surveyed—6.9% of the overall total—featured main characters from minority ethnic, disabled, or neurodivergent backgrounds. Crucially, more than a third of these books (37.3%) were written or illustrated by creators who did not share the background of their characters.

The problem of the single story

Beyond the raw numbers, the study highlighted a distinct lack of "incidental representation"—stories where a character's marginalised identity does not drive the plot.

All three of the books featuring MENA main characters published in 2025 were refugee narratives. Nadine Kaadan, an Arab author, said that while these stories are important, focusing solely on refugee experiences risks defining the region through "war and displacement rather than our rich cultures and heritage."

Representation of disabled characters in picture books also fell sharply, dropping by 60% to just two titles in 2025. Neither of those books was created by a disabled writer or illustrator.

Dr Stella Louis, an early years consultant and author, questioned why marginalised characters cannot simply star in everyday stories. "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?" she said.

Pockets of progress

There were some positive trends in the data. Neurodivergent representation in picture books grew from three titles in 2024 to 13 last year. Meanwhile, the number of baby and toddler books featuring marginalised main characters rose by 29.4%.

However, industry experts warn that there is still a long way to go. Jack Hope, a children’s book consultant, noted that with children's overall enjoyment of reading at a low point, seeing their own lives, identities, and emotions reflected on the page is more important than ever.

"These figures need to be more than mere statistics," he said, "and a call to action for continued change and improvements."