Living / 4 June, 2020 / Ellie Thompson
Books play an important role as mirrors for children: these stories and characters will affect how they see themselves and the world around them, their motivation to read, and their aspirations to become authors and illustrators of the future. However, finding books that truly reflect the diversity of families in the UK is challenging. Over the past 11 years, fewer than 2% of all authors and/or illustrators of children’s books published in the UK were British people of colour.
BookTrust has put together this booklist to highlight some of their favourite picture books by authors and illustrators of colour.
Author: Margaret McAllister Illustrator: Holly Sterling
Interest level: 2-5
Author: Ken Wilson-Max
Interest level: 4-6
Reading age: 5+
Author: Ben Bailey Smith Illustrator: Sav Akyüz
Interest level: 3-5
Author: Alan Durant Illustrator: Mei Matsuoka
Interest level: 3+
Reading level: 5+
Author: Hena Khan Illustrator: Mehrdokht Amini
Interest level: 4-6
Reading age: 5+
Author: Tola Okogwu Illustrator: Naomi Wright
Interest level: 4-6
Reading age: 5+
Author: Smriti Prasadam-Halls Illustrator: Angie Rozelaar
Interest level: 2-5
Author: Akala Illustrator: Sav Akyuz
Interest level: 3-6
Reading age: 5+
Author: Joseph Coelho Illustrator: Allison Colpoys
Interest level: 0-5
Author: Candy Gourlay Illustrator: Francesca Chessa
Interest level: 4-7
Reading age: 5+
Author: Zanib Mian Illustrator: Fatima Mian
Interest level: 5-6
Reading age: 5+
Author: Nathan Bryon Illustrator: Dapo Adeola
Interest level: 4-7
Reading age: 6+
Author: Hannah Lee Illustrator: Allen Fatimaharan
Interest level: 3-7
Reading age: 5+
Author: Various Illustrator: Mique Moriuchi Editor: Danielle Wright
Interest level: 3+
Reading age: 7+
Author: Ranjit Singh Illustrator: Mehrdokht Amini
Interest level: 4-7
Reading age: 5+
Author: Grace Nichols Illustrator: Eleanor Taylor
Interest level: 0+
Reading age: 4+
Author: Michael De Souza Illustrator: Genevieve Webster
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 5+
Author: Yasmeen Ismail
Interest level: 3+
Reading age: 4+
Author: Nadia Shireen
Interest level: 3-6
Reading age: 5-7
Author: Qian Shi
Interest level: 2-5
Author: Chitra Soundar Illustrator: Poonam Mistry
Interest level: 2+
Reading age: 3-6
Author: Emily Hughes
Interest level: 4+
Reading age: 6+