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The Garrison & Friends Project is
fiscally sponsored by
Texas Prisons Community Advocates
For more information on the books presented here, click on the book cover.
Children's Books by Incarcerated Writers
Children's Story Books
Garrison's Visitation Day by Jim Guevara & Juliana Perez
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Garrison's world turns upside down when his dad is gone after school one day. Soon Garrison learns that Dad won't be home for a while because he is in prison. Garrison goes to visit and shares what he learns with other kids so that they won't be scared and will know what to expect. This book includes two additional sections that focus on caregivers and incarcerated parents. The advice empowers all parties involved to know how to handle tough conversations in age-appropriate ways.
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This book will soon be available in Dutch and Spanish.
Alex's Courage by Nanon Williams, Juliana Perez, & Jim Guevara
Alex's Courage addresses the issues of sadness, anger, and isolation, which are common emotions felt by children who experience the incarceration of a parent. Alex doesn't know how to process his complex emotions. With the help of his friend Garrison and a visit to his mother at the prison, Alex learns a valuable lesson and realizes how blessed he is to have friends and a support system during difficult times.
This book is formatted in the same way that Garrison's Visitation Day is, with sections for caregivers and incarcerated parents. It is also available in Dutch and soon in Spanish.
Peace People by Robyn Short and Nanon Williams
Peace People is a whimsically illustrated book that helps young children understand the concept of peace and how to experience peace in their own lives so that they may help others to experience peace as well. "Peace People" offers a positive approach to having necessary conversations and lessons about anti-bullying at home and in school. This book helps children to understand that peace is possible when we choose to be peace. "Peace People" is perfect for children of all ages.
Free as a Bee by Thorstein Mayfield
Free as a Bee is a story of a young female bee who has lived in a barn her entire life and sets out on a quest to find out how the bees used to live in the wild. Along her quest, she encounters a few hurdles and conflicts. But how will she deal with her troubles?
Rosebud Meets a Giant by Jessica Dickerson, Illustrated by Jim Guevara
Can you come on over?
Will you stop and play?
The fields are rich in clover.
The air is sweet with hay.
We'll travel there together.
Let's find the perfect place.
We're in for sunny weather with
cool winds on our face.
Rosebud's by the gate.
She's looking for a friend.
Hurry, don't be late.
She'll be there till the end.
Children's Poetry
The Boy King by Jim Guevara
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Little brothers and sisters,
some words in this book are big.
Knowledge is just like a treasure.
Sometimes you just have to dig.
You will come across words that are hard,
like colloquial or clarinet.
You lose if you say you can’t read them.
Winners just can’t read them yet.
Any kid in the room can yell FART,
just to make grown-ups tense.
To let them know you are clever,
just whisper flatulence.
Learn all words, big and small.
For children who become readers,
grow up to be wonderfully smart and wise,
and become our future leaders
A Trip to the Zoo from Alligator to Zebra by Jim Guevara
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I hope you learned your ABC's, and had fun with this book.
Now it's time to go and play, and step out for a look.
Find all the A's in your house, and the B's outside your door.
The C's are waiting patiently for you to come explore.
The world is vast and waiting to see what you can see.
The first step in mastering the universe, is to learn your ABC's.
A Gaze of Raccoons: and other animal group names by Jim Guevara
A gathering of inchworms really has no name.
But, we can name them just the same.
The concept need not be so hard.
Shall we call 36 inchworms a yard?
Stinky Feet: and other memories by Jim Guevara
For the most part, Stinky Feet is a set of family stories I wrote for my daughter. These stories, written rhymes, are my own childhood experiences. An overactive imagination is a gift that allows you to notice wonderful shapes in the most common of things: clouds, shadows, cracks ... these observations instantly translate into stories and poems.
Books by Incarcerated Writers
INSTITUTIONALIZED Mental Health Behind Bars by Jayson Hawkins, Thorstein Mayfield, Rafael Vasquez, Dror H. Goldberg, Charlie J. Wilkinson, Charles Hill, Albert Prado, Carlos Difundo, James Guevara, and Scarecrow.
There are close to two million people warehoused in U.S. prisons today. When we add in county jails, ICE facilities, and other lockups, that population doubles. While the exact number of these individuals suffering from serious mental health issues can only be estimated, the carceral environment breeds trauma, fosters every sort of abuse, and is custom-designed to dehumanize its occupants. The following essays are some of their hard, fact-filled, chilling stories.....
Proclaim Freedom Throughout the Land by Dror H. Goldberg
Proclaim Freedom Throughout The Land is a collection of essays detailing one man's journey of incarceration through which he found faith, patience and hope within the Texas prison system, one of the harshest prison systems in the country. From unhealthy living conditions to natural disasters and even religious harassment, Dror has persevered and came out the other side a better and stronger man.
Dror means freedom and it is that fact which drives this amazing author to continue being patient until his freedom comes. These essays, while personal to him, can be applied to anyone's life and he hopes that his words inspire hope in the hearts of all that read them so that they can truly proclaim their freedom throughout the land!
That's What's Up! by Dror H. Goldberg
Following the success of his first book, Dror H. Goldberg returns with a collection of words and phrases commonly picked up among inmates within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice—one of the harshest prison systems in the United States. Utilizing his faith and an endless supply of optimism, Goldberg projects positivity into slang that originated in some of the darkest corners of the world. Each term is derived from real, comedic events between Goldberg and his friends and artfully compared to the uplifting and motivational stories of the Torah. Become motivated and inspired with the tools provided within this book and change your outlook toward society’s oft-forgotten. Language inspires and encourages or knocks down and destroys. Your perception matters, and that’s what’s up!
Roland by Thorstein Mayfield
Roland, hero of the ancient French folktale The Chanson de Roland, comes alive in this powerful historical fiction novel. Set in 8th-century France, Roland, the last of the line of Merovingian kings, finds himself overwhelmed and set adrift after his father is killed by the invading Moors. Roland must endure the trials of the warrior's path, court intrigue, and find his way forward while saving his nation from invasion.
The Ties That Bind Us by Nanon Williams
The Ties that Bind Us is a book of poetry mixed with free verse. The poems are written from the raw feelings Nanon Williams experienced while living in solitary confinement on Texas's death row. Confined to a "black-out cell," Williams spent three years in total darkness with nothing but his memories and emotions to bring him solace. All of these poems describe the feelings that weighed heavily on his heart, mind, and soul as he struggled to come to terms with the bleakness and despair of life in isolation. Written from a place few can imagine, and even fewer will ever experience, the emotions expressed are innate to the human experience--a desire for love and human connection. Through his poetry, Williams demonstrates that there is a love that exists within us all. This love is in everything and everyone. If we choose to ignore it, the pain of separating from it remains a constant reminder of what we are missing. In the darkest, most removed prison cell in Texas's Ellis Unit, Williams reconnected with this love. This book is that expression.
The Darkest Hour: Stories and interviews from Death Row by Nanon Williams
Forward by Frans Douw
“… this book will inspire you to view all people through the lens of empathy and compassion …” ~ book foreword by Susan Sarandon “The Darkest Hour: Shedding Light on the Impact of Isolation and Death Row in Texas Prisons” by Dr. Betty Gilmore and Nanon M. Williams sheds light on the widespread impact of extreme isolation experienced by thousands of incarcerated individuals in Texas prisons ― many of whom will be integrated back into society. This book presents an in-depth view of the Texas prison system with a specific focus on death row and solitary confinement. The impact of living in severely restrictive conditions is examined through a multi-disciplinary lens that incorporates scientific research and expert opinion and includes powerful narratives from men who have been incarcerated for 10 or more years and the people that surround them. Factors such as childhood history, attachment, biology, poverty, race and other social influences are explored in relation to the events that led up to incarceration and the subsequent ability to obtain fair treatment throughout the legal process. In-depth stories of trauma, survival and growth guides readers through the experiences of these men, and the efforts made to preserve their own dignity in the face of adversity.
