“I love this book! Khim Fam’s illustrations bring Desmond Tutu’s enduring quote to life, while Matt Meyer cleverly navigates the metaphor to teach young readers about the power of community action.” —Innosanto Nagara, author and illustrator of A is for Activist, Counting on Community, and M is for Movement

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Every morning Desmond the mouse wakes with the sunrise and spends the day playing in the beautiful meadow where he lives. And every night he goes to sleep under the starry sky. That is until one night he wakes up and finds an elephant asleep on his tail! Desmond asks for help from every kind of animal passing by but no one wants to disturb the sleeping giant. How will Desmond get free?

With Matt Meyer’s thoughtful story and lush watercolor illustrations by artist Khim Fam, Desmond Gets Free introduces young readers to timely and nuanced concepts of justice and liberation in a kid-friendly and accessible way.

Matt Meyer has a degree in hand drumming from Berklee College of Music and has studied abroad in Cuba, Ghana, and Central America. He’s worked on campaigns to preserve old growth forests, support farmworkers rights, and stop the construction of fossil fuel pipelines, and is always looking for ways to dismantle systems of oppression and support communities grounded in justice. He travels the country making music and speaking about the intersections of music, community, and social justice.

Khim Fam is a self-taught illustrator who caught the painting bug as a child watching his uncle paint vibrant canvases in the studio. He loves taking long walks in the woods and is inspired by the colors and shapes of our natural landscape. Khim hopes to create magical worlds through painting that allow us to better connect ourselves with the world around us.