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Free the Children
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Free the Children
This is the story that launched a movement.
At only 12 years old, Craig Kielburger was shocked to discover the realities of child labour faced by kids his own age throughout the developing world. Driven to take action and witness these conditions first-hand, he and his trusted mentor Alam embarked on a journey that would take him to places he'd never imagined.
Free the Child...more
At only 12 years old, Craig Kielburger was shocked to discover the realities of child labour faced by kids his own age throughout the developing world. Driven to take action and witness these conditions first-hand, he and his trusted mentor Alam embarked on a journey that would take him to places he'd never imagined.
Free the Child...more
Paperback, 262 pages
Published
2007
by Me to We Books
(first published 1998)
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Excellent book- I was drawn to it; interested by this story from the first sentence all the way through. It was hard to put down. Incredible to think that at only age 12, Kielburger was able to accomplish so much- that he had so much ambition and passion about this certain topic. That is something that I truly admire and wish I had. Ambition and passion for an important topic that affects people and to help fight for the change to bring better to a society. However, he had a great amount of back...more
Sep 07, 2012
Maddi
added it
Free the Children, written by Craig Kielburger, is a true story about Craig’s transformation from a normal
twelve year-old living in a suburb in Canada to an important human rights activist. Craig was
reading the newspaper and was appalled to see that a boy Craig’s own age named Iqbal was
killed. Iqbal Masih was a child worker in Pakistan who escaped. After earning his freedom, he
became an inspiration and motivational speaker for other child laborers. Shortly after, his life
came to an end when he w...more
This is one of those books, that whenever I need inspiring or need to reconsider how lucky I am to live the life I live or to push myself to work harder I read this. I have not took the time to read this one for awhile but I did it. I have read many books by Craig Kielburger (because he is someone that I mentor, look up to, and push myself to be like) so I think that is why I basically picked out this book. It is an auto-biography and a really inspiring one. You start with 12 year old Craig read...more
This was one of the few books that kept my interest from the very beginning until the end. I thought it was so interesting that Craig started this organization when he was so young. It was so amazing to me that Craig was so ambitious to not only create an organization about a topic he became tremendously passionate about but to go to a country where child labor is prominent. I felt he was very audacious by not wanting adults to be major parts of Free the Children. This really proved to me that a...more
It puts you to shame to read about what this 13 year old and his friends have done to campaign against child abuse and labour.
I thoughtt it was well written and combined a story of passion and comitment with a travelogue of India and Pakistan.
It would maybe be nice to have a version of this that younger children could access and enjoy.
I thoughtt it was well written and combined a story of passion and comitment with a travelogue of India and Pakistan.
It would maybe be nice to have a version of this that younger children could access and enjoy.
Covers how Kielburger was inspired to start the Free the Children organization, and the research trip he took through India, Thailand and Pakistan doing research on Child Labourers and how they're treated. Discusses how important it is to educate children in order to give the children, their families, and their society a chance at a better future.
Obviously, the main themes of the book are disclosure of the evils of forced child labor & the need to rehabilitate socioeconomic systems that condone & rely on the exploitation of children. But another theme, almost as important as the ones I've already stated, is the impact that concerned children can have when they act in concert to correct social injustice. A truly inspiring read!
Jan 01, 2013
Caitlin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
life-changers,
non-fiction
All I have to say is this: I read this book in 2011, did a few benefit concerts after being inspired by it, and now I am going to Kenya thanks to this wonderful organization. A must read? I think so.
Crazy Amazing. That's the new title. This is along the lines of "Three Cups of Tea" - the power that one person can have if they just do something. Except this kid was 12 years old when he started. What?! I wish I'd had the motivation and ambition and heart he did at age 12. DEFINITELY recommend. Or, rather, I beg you to read it. Please please please read this. It will change you, methinks.
I read only part of this book that was related to child labor in Pakistan. Very encouraging to see a boy's struggle against this crime against humanity.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Free The Children tells the story of Craig Kelburger and his fight against child labor. This book opened my eyes to the issue of child labor. Personally I had never given much thought to the topic, but I now realize the importance of this issue. While reading I was horrified at how the author describe the conditions that these young children work in. This book also brought how rarely kids are thought of as capable of making change to my attention, while in fact they in fact are just as capable a...more
i donated some money to his organization as soon as i finished reading this book.
Craig Kielburger (who is one person who I can honestly describe as good, and possibly is the definition of the word) shares the beginning of his fight against child labour in this touching and eye-opening autobiography. His writing is eloquent and engrossing enough that it's easy to believe that you're reading a fictional story of a young Canadian. That is, until you realize it's not fictional and that the world has a lot of developing to do.
Would have been 5 stars if not for the freaking typos!...more
Would have been 5 stars if not for the freaking typos!...more
Touching
An interesting book on an important topic, though (and here's where i sound pompous) it definitely reads like it's written by a teenager.
He was twelve when he started this campaign to free the children. Since then he's plunged head-on to change the world. He's been nominated three times for the nobel peace prize and he's only 24. I've spent two summer traveling with Craig though Kenya and India and he's more than just an idealist, he's a great guy with a huge heart, a quick smile who really is changing the world. Reading this book is an insight to his motivation.
The courage and vision of this author - at such a young age! - is extraodinary and inspiring. At the age of 12, Craig Kielburger formed an advocacy group, "Free the Children" to help understand child labour. This book chronicles the start of Free the Children, and the author's first trip to Asia, again while only 12 years old, to talk to child labourers, to bring their stories back to North America, and to try to find solutions.
I liked this book because it really tells the reader what is happening in other parts of the world.
For example:the biography takes place on his travels to India to see how bad the quality of life really is in other parts of the world.
For example:the biography takes place on his travels to India to see how bad the quality of life really is in other parts of the world.
This book was so good!! The only thing I didn't like about it, was that the narrator is 12-13 years old, but when reading it, it sounds like a 40 year old talking. It just didn't fit.
i heard the author speak, who by the way is such a GREAT speaker. His experiences around the world and his findings on child labor issues really make you think. i loved it!
Craig's work in that area of helping to free children from child labor are admirable. I just didn't care for the actual writing of the book itself.
So interesting and a real eye opener. I would recommend d every preteen child read this- to open their eyes to our 'global economy '.
Wow, a very powerful insightful book. It really opens your eyes to what is happening in the world and what someone can to do to help.
I didn't finish the whole book but I really admired Craig's drive and courage as a young boy. He has found his life's mission.
Amazing book. Teaches people how to serve others. They build schools. Oprah helped build schools with them.
currently this title aloud to my children as part of our world geography and cultures homeschool course
Truley inspirational... I really cna't stop reading it!
...for my classroom.
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Craig Kielburger is a Canadian activist for the rights of children. As a 12 year old he founded Free the Children, a non-profit organisation that now operates in 45 countries with more than one million young people involved in programs. More recently, Craig co-founded Me to We with his brother Marc. Me to We is a for-profit social enterprise that provides socially responsible products and services...more
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“I play video games and watch TV, but there's more to life than that. Faxing and the Internet have created a global community. The kid next door has become the kid in Latin America or Asia.”
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2 people liked it
“Children working in the carpet industry often suffer from many health problems. These include breathing difficulties from inhaling the carpet fibres, arthritis in their fingers from tying the tiny knots, and growth deformities from working hunched over their looms for so long every day.”
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2 people liked it
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09. September, 09:51 Uhr
10. September, 16:58 Uhr