Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: "Free the Children" is an excellent book on the issue of child labor. Craig Kielburger, a 12 years old Canadian became an activist after reading from the newspaper that Iqbal Masih, also another 12 years old from Pakistan was killed because of his support for the abolition of child labor. Soon, Craig started the "Free the Children" foundation, consists of only school children and their goal is to bring awareness to the issue of child labor. In order to learn more about this issue, Craig travelled to South Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and to Thailand, hoping to meet the children himself.His detailed explanation of his trip was quite horrifying. Craig saw that the children were working as much as 10-12 hours a day for a mere US $1-2. Some of the children worked at firework factories where injuries were common and no safety measures were taken. Other times, children were beaten if they do not work. The most disturbing part of the book was his investigations in Bangkok where sex trade was rampant. Children were used as sex tools to lure tourists. The emotional, mental and physical scars that these children bore were immeasurable. "Free the Children" for me personally, is quite an inspiring book as it shows how one person can make a difference. In addition, it is quite an eye-opener as Craig argues, with examples, why child labor should be abolished and how each and everyone of us can assist in that. I highly recommend this book to anyone as it is extremely educational and motivational. I would caution parents on the part of Bangkok to young children as it can be quite disturbing and graphic.
Rating:
Summary: Great and touching book....
Review: ....I saw this kid on Oprah and so i got this book, it was amazingly powerful. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about kids in anyway. It will totally touch you.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant & Inspiring
Review: After reading Free The Children I feel as though my eyes have been opened to another world. Craig Kielburger managed to keep me interested while successfully telling his story. At times I laughed while I read the book. However at times I was horrified by what I was reading. Free The Children has shown me that one person or a small group of people can make a difference, it has also given me the inspiration that I needed to get on with my life. My problems are nothing compared to what others in the world go through. All over, Free The Children is well worth the read and I would strongly recomment this book to adults as well as children.
Rating:
Summary: Free the Children is insightful and moving.
Review: As a member of Free the Children in the United States, I found the book to be particuarly insightful. It was incredible to read the stories of children around South East Asia, and how they have had an impact on the youth of North America. Even though I already knew some of the stories, I was suprised by how moved I was after reading Craig Kielburger's first hand account. This book has refreshed my commitment to the work of Free the Children.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring, well written and waiting for his next adventure
Review: Craig Kielburger has written about what one person can do when they see injustice in the world. At 12 years of age, Craig went on his own personal crusade to find out about the plight of children in bonded labour and why it was happening in the world and can be done about it. This book keeps you spellbound and wondering what he will do next, who he will meet, where will he go - at 16 years of age, he has some excellent insights. Craig is an inspiration to young people who often wonder who listens to them and what difference they can make in the world. A must for every young person and for every adult who is interested in supporting youth.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing book!
Review: Craig Kielburger's novel is a stunning indictment of the evils of child labor and the need for the empowerment and education of youth. The book is easy to read, and can be appreciated by people of all ages. It is most inspiring, though, to young people who are interested in making a difference in the world. Craig is an amazing example of what can happen when children decide to fight for something that they believe in. This book is an inspiration for young and old alike.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastico, nice story, very inspiring.
Review: Every teenage child in the western world should read this book. I always believed that every child in the occident ought to travel, once in their young age, to a third world country, carrying back all the memories of that trip in their home land. I believe that they would certainly have a different perspective on their lives and most likely revise their priorities. Nice Christmas gift for all the kids you know.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent eye opener
Review: First, thank you Craig for sharing your passion and enthusiastic quest for the truth. Thank you to the many children working with you around the world to enlighten us all on the plight of these very industrious but desparate children. The book is great!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and insightful
Review: Free the Children is a fascinating and insightful look at one of the greatest social problems facing the world today - child abuse. As a Zimbabwean. living in the developing world, I have been impressed by Craig Kielburger's grasp of the extent of the actual problem - and by his identification of what can be done. He is a remarkable young man and his book will help fuel a worldwide drive to eradicate the evils of child labour and child exploitation.
Rating:
Summary: Free The Children: an eloquent and enlightening discussion
Review: Free the Children is an eloquent discussion of the proper and improper roles forced on children around our planet, carried out through the story of its author, fifteen-year-old Craig Kielburger. After reading a newspaper article about a Pakistani child labour activist who was killed, likely for his activism, Craig began investigating the issue of child labour. A small band of his classmates giving speeches to local schools quickly snowballed into a lobby group of growing numbers and influence. Intent on seeing the evils of child labour first hand, Craig set off on a remarkable odyssey across Southeast Asia; most of the book is a recount of his adventures. One would be missing the point, however, if one took this book to be a travel chronicle punctuated with marvellous stories of meeting child prostitutes or raiding carpet factories. No, the point of Free the Children is not simply to tell Craig's story, it is to convince the reader that child labour is wrong, children should be listened to, and we all must do our part in achieving these two objectives. The last two chapters, the thematic heart of the book, are an overt discussion of these ideas, and it was here where I was decisively convinced of the worthiness of Craig's project. As he stresses repeatedly, we all must do more than talk about what we believe in; by serving explicitly and thematically as a call to action, his book does this. In our adult-focused world where children are forced, depending on their place of birth, either into lives of labour or lives of sedentariness, Craig's message of empowerment is crucially important, important enough that this book may well find a role in many a classroom, and regardless should constitute essential reading for the 10-18 age group.
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