The past decade has given us an encouraging number of well-written and appealing children's books which give an authentic picture of the black people in the United States in dramatic text and brilliant illustrations. Indeed, in this period, a whole new sense of realism has come into children's literature which portrays urgent social issues and attacks racial and sexual stereotypes. It is impossible, however, to gauge the exact extent of these trends, since no complete study of children's book publishing has been conducted since 1965. Despite the efforts of many groups, it may be that this flow of newly published interracial books is slowing down. This is one problem, but a more serious one is the apathy with which teachers and, in some cases, librarians treat this whole issue. Many seem to feel that interracial books are only for black children, and they often display an almost total lack of critical sense in recognizing gross stereotypes. Even those teachers who wish to use these books may face constraints from administrators or the community. The greatest issue in the decade ahead is not getting more interracial books from the publishers--important as that is--but convincing all school staff and parents to bring these books to the children. (Author/SL)