We have a disproportionately low percentage of authentic multicultural children’s literature available to our nation’s children. Authentic multicultural children's books are defined as having been written by an author within that culture and also paints a specific and vivid cultural portrait within the story. In statistics gathered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, only 10 percent of children’s books have multicultural content, while over 37 percent of today’s children are part of a minority culture. Furthermore, while the percentage of culturally diverse children continues to grow at a steady rate, the percentage of multicultural children’s books available has not wavered in the past 18 years.

It is important for children to be able to find relatable characters within their stories; it not only creates role models for children but also serves to solidify their sense of self-worth. If we continue to not provide adequate multicultural literature to children, we are sending the message that they are not as valuable as children from our dominant culture. This is a hugely impactful message, and the consequences of this message affect not only the child but the economy and society as a whole, as children who struggle to find self-worth in childhood will struggle to live up to their potential in adulthood. We demand a balance in the percentage of multicultural books published in 2014 with the percentage of children who need them.