What Is the “Let Kids Be Kids” Coloring Book?
FFLIC created the “Let Kids Be Kids” book as a learning and advocacy tool to support families and youth in building an informed community network to fight injustice and stop the school-to-prison pipeline in Louisiana. The book will help strengthen the understanding of the systems that are impacting our youth and families in order to change those systems. Moreover, we hope to uplift the voices of families and youth in the telling of their stories, which are included in the book, as well as engage young people as advocacy leaders through the telling of their stories in different art forms.
Who Should Use the Coloring Book?
We hope that this book will provide families, youth, advocates, community members, schools, policymakers, and all those working in systems with the understanding they need to actively participate in pushing for the needed youth justice reforms, including policies that reinvest funding from youth incarceration into community alternatives.
How Do I Use the Book?
The book is an educational tool to build understanding and awareness of youth justice reform in Louisiana. However, it is intended for adults and mature youth, and though it can also be used to help children understand injustices, it is recommended to do so with the supervision and guidance of an adult. This book should be handled with care. The content can be triggering, and so we also recommend time for discussion of the content and also that readers are prepared to take care of any strong emotions. With these recommendations in mind, the tool can be used in the following ways:
- Family-friendly advocacy trainings
- At home with your child
- During story time with younger children
- In schools, libraries, or youth groups (it’s particularly suited for government and policy classes/trainings, and/or youth leadership and advocacy activities)
- To facilitate discussions on how the arts can support advocacy