In an article for Publishers Weekly, Covid, Inclusivity, and Mindfulness: Three Years of Picture Book Trends, Dr. e Dulemba reports on spending a week reading 602 picture books that were published in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and submitted by their publishers for The Margaret Wise Brown Prize in Children’s Literature.
With the important caveat that none of us should be creating for a trend (the business of publishing is slow enough that the trend will likely be over before your newly created work could hit the market), it's pretty fascinating to see what Elizabeth uncovered. Highlights include:
"there was a remarkable increase in biographies of underrepresented people—primarily women and BIPOC."
and
"a marked increase in self-help, mindfulness, and mental wellness books in response to our more anxious generation—these topics have moved into the mainstream."
and
"Child/elder (grandparent) relationships is another longstanding theme, but the sheer number of books in this category increased remarkably—perhaps as our population ages and baby boomer numbers grow."
Check out the full article here to learn more.
Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee
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