In 1985 the Cooperative Children's Book Center began to document the numbers of books published in the United States for children each year which were written and/or illustrated by African Americans. When CCBC Director Ginny Moore Kruse served as a member of the Coretta Scott King Award Committee that year, we were appalled to learn that, of the approximately 2,500 trade books that were published that year for children and teens, only 18 were created by African Americans, and thus eligible for the Coretta Scott King Award. Using the CCBC's collection and working in conjunction with the Coretta Scott King Award Task Force of the American Library Association, we have continued to document the number of books each year and to publish this statistic in our annual publication CCBC Choices.

Because of the great interest in these statistics over the past decade, and with the increasing concern for accurate and authentic portrayals of people of color in literature for children, in 1994 we began keeping statistics for the numbers of books "by and about" American Indians, Asian/Pacifics and Asian/Pacific Americans, and Latinos, as well. Because we don't have access to statistics comparable to those gathered for the Coretta Scott King Award, we are unable to make an accurate determination as to how many of these were actually created by authors and illustrators of these ethnic backgrounds. As is true with books about Africans and African Americans, however, a large number of the books about people of color are written by white authors and illustrators.

Over the past two decades, we have continued to see evidence of the importance of small, independently owned publishers as contributors to a significant body of authentic multicultural literature for children in the United States and Canada. Please see our list of Small Presses Owned and Operated by People of Color for further information about these presses. We have also noted the importance of children's book awards in calling attention to outstanding work created by and about people of color. In addition to the Coretta Scott King Award for African American literature, please visit the web sites of the Américas Award, the Pura Belpré Award, and the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award to learn more about Latino literature for children. You will also find recommended resources and helpful information about evaluating American Indian literature for children at the Oyate web site.

The total number of trade books published each year which are included in our statistics represents estimates based on the numbers of new books received each year at the Cooperative Children's Book Center. It does not typically include mass market or gimmick/toy books created for direct-to-consumer sales. Rather, these are the trade books typically available for sale to public schools and public libraries. It should be noted that the CCBC does not receive every book published annually, although we do receive most of the hardcover books for children and teens from the major trade book publishers.

Children's Books By and About People of Color Published in the U.S. 2002-

Year	Total Number of Books Published (Est.)	Number of Books Received at CCBC	African / African Americans		American Indians		Asian Pacifics/ Asian Pacific Americans		Latinos
			By	About	By	About	By	About	By	About
2007	5,000	3,000	77	150	6	44	56	68	42	59
2006	5,000	3,000	87	153	14	41	72	74	42	63
2005	5,000	2,800	75	149	4	34	60	64	50	76
2004	5,000	2,800	99	143	7	33	61	65	37	61
2003	5,000	3,200	79	171	11	95	43	78	41	63
2002	5,000	3,150	69	166	6	64	46	91	48	94

Children's Books By and About People of Color Published in the U.S. 1994-2001

Year	Total Number of Books Published	African / African-Americans		Asian Pacific / Asian Pacific Americans	American Indian	Latinos
		By	About	By and About	By and About	By and About
2001	5,000-5,500	99	201	96	60	76
2000	5,000-5,500	96	147	54	39	42
1999	5,000	81	150	61	41	64
1998	5,000	92	183	50	54	66
1997	4,500-5000	88	216	66	64	88
1996	4,500	92	172	49	50	103
1995	4,500	100	167	91	83	70
1994	4,500	82	166	65	70	90

Children's Books By Black Authors and Illustrators Published in the U.S. 1985-1993

Year	Total Number of Books Published	Total Number of Books by Black Authors and Illustrators
1993	4,500	74
1992	4,500	94
1991	4,000	70
1990	5,000	51
1989	4,000	48
1988	3,000	39
1987	3,000	30
1986	3,000	18
1985	2,500	18