Our Mission.
A Colorful Collection (ACC) was created to address the gaps in children’s literature and storytelling spaces where too many voices remain unheard. We believe storytelling rooted in culture, identity, and lived experience is essential for connection, belonging, and learning.
Through inclusive children’s literature and our Community Blog, we hope to amplify and uplift BIPOC and underrepresented storytellers of all ages.
We embrace the intersection of diverse identities and experiences, creating space for stories that have historically been silenced due to systemic barriers, racial inequities in publishing, and the ongoing rise of book bans.
At our core, ACC is both a publisher and a storytelling home. We support authors and illustrators in bringing culturally rooted stories to life for young readers, while also holding space for broader reflections, narratives, and creative expression across communities.
Our Four Core Pillars
To celebrate & empower voices and stories from diverse backgrounds
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We are committed to cultivating inclusive and affirming spaces for marginalized groups through intentional community engagement. By fostering collaboration and dialogue, and mutual support, we strive to build a community rooted in care and belonging.
To cultivate inclusivity for marginalized groups through community engagement
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We unite individuals from all backgrounds through a dynamic multimedia platform that encourages meaningful interaction and shared understanding.
Past community events, such as read-alouds and pop-up book drives, have allowed us to strengthen community ties and unite children and families together.
To unite individuals from all backgrounds through a multimedia platform
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We unite individuals from all backgrounds through a dynamic multimedia platform that encourages meaningful interaction and shared understanding. By bridging differences through storytelling, art, and conversation, we aim to create opportunities through publishing, blogging, and podcasting for connections that surpass borders and bring people closer together.
To foster a love for reading, writing, and learning within BIPOC+ communities
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We foster a love for reading, writing, and learning within BIPOC+ communities by making knowledge accessible, engaging, and culturally relevant. Through education-driven content and creative exploration, we aim to inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and empowerment.
Collaborations with Michigan’s PACCM, Ypsilanti’s YMCA Child Development Center, and Ann Arbor’s Daycroft Montessori School have allowed us to connect with children to spread a love for literacy.
The Why.
Books are the foundation of creativity, imagination, and ingenuity. They serve as the engines that propel readers into a world of infinite possibilities.
As Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop describes, books are mirrors when readers see themselves reflected in the pages; they are windows that provide an opening to worlds similar or different to them; and they are sliding glass doors, transporting each reader into a new world.
However, the lack of representation in children’s literature often leaves many young readers struggling with questions about their identity and place in society. In a time of censorship, rising book bans, and heightened political tensions, it is important, now more than ever, to promote access to diverse stories.
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Alex Eble, Associate Professor of Economics & Education and his team categorized books for children aged 14 and under into “mainstream” and “diversity” books. After identifying over 44,000 characters in these books, they found that (1) men are more commonly represented than women in both pictures and words, and (2) white populations were represented more frequently than Black and Latino populations. Click hereto read more.
Research shows that in the 2021-2022 school year, more books were banned in US school districts than in any previous year, with the majority of books being written by people of color, featuring characters of color in fictional, historical, and children’s books. Click here to read more.
The breakdown highlights…
37% of children’s books with diverse characters (including LGTBQ+ characters & character of color)
22% of nonfiction books about social movements and historical figures
10% fantasy & science fiction
10% young adult queer romance novels
10% women-centered fiction
11% miscellaneous topics & outliers
PEN America reports the growing number of book bans, beginning at 2,523 books in 2022 to 10,046 books in 2024. Click here for more information.
Despite the alarming book ban numbers, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) reports that 49% of books had significant BIPOC content (up from 46% in 2022) and 40% had at least one BIPOC primary character (up from 39% in 2022). Click here to read more.
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As reported by PEN America, the publishing industry in the U.S. continues to threaten representation and racial equity in the literary landscape, where financial success remains the primary goal when placing books on the shelves. Publishers subscribe to the “one is enough” rule, where a single book by an author of a certain background or ethnic group is enough to encompass an entire topic. Click here to read more.
PEN America also documents an “identity trap” where authors of color are treated as able to only write about race or trauma, limiting the range of stories that get acquired, making it difficult to publish joyful, genre, or everyday stories with diverse casts. Click here to read more.
In 2019, Lee & Low Books conducted a survey, reporting that the publishing industry was around 76-79% white. This includes top executive positions such as editorial, sales, marketing, and publicity departments along with book reviewers and literary agents. Click here to read more.
Historically, publishing houses favor elite networks to maintain personal connections, widening inequities of race and class in executive positions. These hiring disparities feed into the cycle of exclusion as limited career advancements for BIPOC persist. Click here to read more.
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Support independent, community-led publishers uplifting BIPOC, queer, disabled, and underrepresented voices.
Champion inclusive storytelling as essential, not supplemental, in schools, libraries, and homes.
Expand pathways into publishing by encouraging marginalized creators to pursue roles as authors, editors, illustrators, designers, and industry leaders.
Invest in access and visibility through book drives, classroom partnerships, and community literacy programs.
Amplify diverse stories publicly—read them, teach them, recommend them, and demand more of them.