Books for Kids in the Justice System

new partnership

Helping to get book in the hands of youth in the juvenile justice system.

By: Ember Stone

Our team is excited to partner with Tombolo Books to keep our Justice Studio library fully stocked with new books, and you can help!

We are taking book donations through our gift registry on the Tombolo website for both our lending library and our reference library within the studio. From the teens' requests and our tried-and-true list of young adult books, we've compiled a registry that spans many interests and genres for them to choose from.  

Youth in the juvenile detention center don't have access to their phones, so many discover or renew their interest in reading to subdue boredom while in the facility. Each time they visit Justice Studio, teens are allowed to take two books back to their rooms from our lending library. They are also allowed to keep forever any books that they love. We often hear from the kids that they read a lot more books while detained than they do in their everyday life. Our teaching artists recognize that we are in a special situation to support their life-long literary journeys. By donating books to NOMADstudio, you are helping us make that an ongoing reality! 

In addition to our lending library, we have a reference library—a permanent fixture in the studio providing inspiration on art techniques for the kids. Through your book donations, we are hoping to bolster this selection to include resources on careers, trades, and life skills as well.  

If you'd like to purchase books for our Justice Studio library, you can find our registry here. To learn more about Justice Studio, along with our other outreach programs, check out the programs page of our website.

We appreciate the community's support in bringing art and connection to the young people throughout Tampa Bay.