Judging books by covers: Exploring antiblackness and Asian and Hispanic children preferences

Abstract

Children’s books support children’s development, but many factors influence interest in engaging with books, including book physical features. Additionally, the lack of diverse children’s books makes it difficult to determine whether racial characters influence children's book preferences. This study utilized a forced-choice selection task to investigate book preference of 56 five-, six-, and seven-year-old Hispanic/Latino (n = 23) and Asian (n = 33) children. The children were shown identical book covers with either an object or a Black or White character. Participant preferences and rationales were collected and analyzed. While the ANOVA showed no significant differences, a Chi-square test did reveal significance in preference differences, and five qualitative preference rationale categories emerged, including a race-related rationale. Study implications provide evidence for the necessity of publishing more diverse books and including them as required materials within curriculum.