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Inclusive Books for Children’s 2026 report found that books featuring marginalised main characters fell by 8% in 2025 compared with 2024, even as their share of a shrinking market rose. Black and disabled representation declined, while neurodivergent characters appeared in more picture books. The study covers traditionally published books for children aged 1 to 9 in selected categories.
Books featuring marginalised main characters fell by 8% in 2025 compared with 2024, according to a new study of UK children’s publishing by Inclusive Books for Children (IBC). Its Excluded Voices 2026 report found declines in Black and disabled representation, while the overall proportion of surveyed books featuring marginalised characters rose because the children’s publishing market shrank more sharply.
IBC analysed 2,189 traditionally published books for children aged 1 to 9, including baby and toddler books, picture books and children’s fiction. Of those, 150 titles, or 6.9%, featured main characters from the marginalised groups covered by the research. The report says the number of such titles was down 8% from 2024; their share of the market increased as the total market contracted more steeply.
Black main characters appeared in 47 books, or 2.1% of the books surveyed, a 7.8% fall from 2024. South Asian main characters appeared in 30 books, or 1.4%, and MENA main characters in three, or 0.1%. The report compares these figures with population estimates for children aged 1 to 9: around 8.5% are Black, 12.4% South Asian and 2.2% of MENA heritage. Overall, it says 27% of children in that age group identify as belonging to a minoritised ethnicity, while 5.8% of surveyed books featured a main character from a minoritised ethnicity.
Picture books featuring disabled main characters fell 60% to two titles in 2025; neither was made by an “Own Voice” creator, which IBC defines as an author or illustrator who shares the main character’s marginalised identity. Three books in fiction for ages 5 to 9 featured disabled main characters, including one by an Own Voice author. Meanwhile, neurodivergent representation increased in picture books from three titles in 2024 to 13 in 2025.
Representation Across Children’s Books
The figures point to a gap between the children represented in the population estimates cited by IBC and the main characters found in the books it surveyed. That matters because children’s books are one way young readers encounter characters whose lives resemble their own and people with different experiences. The report argues that exposure to a wider range of literature can support empathy and confidence in children’s identities; the study measures publishing representation, not its effects on individual readers.
IBC also draws attention to the kinds of stories available. A group may appear in a small number of titles, but those stories can still leave everyday experiences underrepresented if identity is mainly presented as the central subject. The charity calls for more “incidental representation”: characters whose identity is present in stories about friendship, adventure, loss or joy, rather than always being the plot’s focus.
inclusive children's picture books Black South Asian disabled
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Where the 2025 Counts Came From
The Excluded Voices 2026 report examines traditionally published books for children aged 1 to 9 across three broad categories: baby and toddler books, picture books, and fiction for ages 5 to 9. Its findings describe those categories and the groups included in the research; they do not cover every children’s book or every form of publishing.
The report records some gains alongside the declines. In baby and toddler books, titles featuring marginalised main characters rose from 17 in 2024 to 22 in 2025, an increase of 29.4%. That category also included its first disabled and neurodivergent main characters, both created by Own Voice creators. Neurodivergent characters also increased modestly in fiction for ages 5 to 9, from four books to five. IBC cautions that these increases started from low numbers.
IBC also found that all three books with MENA main characters in its 2025 survey were refugee narratives. Author-illustrator Nadine Kaadan criticised the narrow range and the lack of Own Voice authorship in those titles. Her comments are an attributed assessment of the books, not a separate finding about all publishing.
“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?”
— Dr Stella Louis, early years consultant, trainer and author
diverse children's books with neurodivergent characters
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Limits of the Publishing Survey
The report covers a defined sample of traditionally published books and selected age groups and formats. The supplied findings do not establish how representation compares across self-published titles, books outside the survey categories, or children’s books available in other years beyond the comparison with 2024. The figures also do not explain why the market or particular representation counts changed.
It is also unclear from the reported figures how the overall market contraction affected each category and identity group separately. The gains in baby and toddler books and neurodivergent picture-book characters do not show whether those increases will continue. The source material provides no forecast for the next publishing year.
children's books featuring marginalized main characters
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Publishers Face Calls for Wider Stories
IBC says publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, schools and parents all have a role in helping children encounter a wider range of voices and experiences through books. Its findings put attention on both the number of titles and the range of experiences represented, including who creates the books.
The next measure of whether the reported gains continue will come from future publishing data. Until then, the report documents a mixed picture for 2025: fewer books featuring marginalised main characters overall, sharp declines in some groups, and increases in several categories that remain small in absolute numbers.
representation in children's literature
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Key Questions
How many books did the study examine?
Inclusive Books for Children analysed 2,189 traditionally published books for children aged 1 to 9 across baby and toddler books, picture books and children’s fiction.
No. The number of titles fell by 8% from 2024, but their overall proportion increased because the wider children’s publishing market shrank more sharply.
Which groups saw declines?
Black main-character titles fell by 7.8% in 2025. Picture books featuring disabled main characters fell by 60%, to two titles. The report also found very low counts for South Asian and MENA main characters.
Were there any increases in representation?
Yes. Neurodivergent characters appeared in 13 picture books in 2025, up from three in 2024. Baby and toddler books featuring marginalised main characters increased from 17 to 22, though IBC says the numbers remain low.
What does “Own Voice” mean in the report?
IBC defines an Own Voice creator as an author or illustrator who shares the marginalised identity of the main character they create.
Source: rss
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