Prisons Must Fall

<p><strong>From Mariame Kaba, </strong><strong><em>New York Times</em></strong><strong>-bestselling author of </strong><strong><em>We Do This ‘Til We Free Us</em></strong><strong>,</strong> <strong>and social worker Jane Ball comes a powerful book showing the harm that prisons cause and exploring alternatives, gorgeously illustrated by Olly Costello.<br/><br/></strong><em>Prisons, they do no good.<br/></em><em>They do not help. <br/></em><em>They do not teach.<br/><br/></em>On a moonlit road, tucked away from prying eyes, a child sees a prison complex—cinder blocks, watch towers, barbed wire. Page by page, we come to see the prison as a child sees it. <br/><br/>Prisons hurt people and leave them lonely, without loved ones to comfort them or lend a listening ear.<br/><br/>As dandelion stars float up in the air, this dreamscape becomes a hope-scape, where love transcends the prison walls. All the families and friends of the people in the prison march and protest in beautiful song, march together to a new way and a new dawn—in this case a cooperative housing and community center, next to a neighborhood greenhouse for restoration and healing. A new world, where connection and repair are fundamental, and even tangible, as people around a table quilt messages, “I hear you. I’m sorry for what I did. How can I make it better?”<br/><br/>In <em>Prisons Must Fall,</em> Mariame Kaba, a longtime activist, together with co-author Jane Ball, present solutions that do not involve incarceration, such as meeting people’s basic needs, restorative justice, and community support—seeds for a safe world. Illustrator Olly Costello provides textured images of a global majority community and a grey, monotone backdrop that is overtaken by joyful colors. A gentle but effective addition to all social justice bookshelves and libraries. Discussion questions included.</p><p><strong>Perfect for:</strong></p><ul><li>Parents, teachers, and librarians looking for books on the prison industrial complex and prison reform</li><li>Kids who are interested in fairness and social justice</li><li>Readers who love exceptional and sophisticated illustration</li></ul>