Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2010
224 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
What does it mean to be free? Top authors donate their talents to explore the question in a compelling collection to benefit Amnesty International.
A boy who thinks that school is "slavery" learns the true meaning of the word when he stumbles on a secret child-labor factory. A Palestinian boy, mute from trauma, releases kites over a wall to a hilltop settlement, each bearing a message of peace. This inspiring, engaging anthology gathers an international roster of authors to explore such themes as asylum, law, education, and faith — from a riveting tale of an attempt to find drinking water after Hurricane Katrina; to a chilling look at a future where microchips track every citizen’s every move; to a hilarious police interrogation involving the London Tower, the Crown Jewels, and a Ghanaian boy with a passion for playing marbles. Features an introduction by British writer Jacqueline Wilson.
With stories by:
David Almond
Ibtisam Barakat
Malorie Blackman
Theresa Breslin
Eoin Colfer
Roddy Doyle
Ursula Dubosarsky
Jamila Gavin
Margaret Mahy
Patricia McCormick
Michael Morpurgo
Sarah Mussi
Meja Mwangi
Rita Williams-Garcia
"A mostly solid volume for a good cause." - Kirkus Reviews
"Sure to spark discussion and perhaps participation in Amnesty International. Grades 7-10. " - Booklist
"Our book Free? is a reminder of what a huge leap was taken when someone wrote down our rights and the world agreed. And we want children to realize that the rights most of us can take for granted were won and struggled for." - David Almond
"This timely collection contains some very moving and well-written stories that inform as well as inspire the reader." - VOYA
"...highly readable. Don't let the cause or political weight of the title scare readers away." - School Library Journal
This information about Free? was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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