Free?: Stories About Human Rights - Softcover

Various

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0763649260 ISBN 13: 9780763649265

Publisher: Candlewick, 2010

Synopsis

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

About this title

About the Author:

Amnesty International is a nonprofit organization that works to protect human rights around the world.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up—This anthology advocates for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It has the bonus of literary merit, and—another plus—it's highly readable. Don't let the cause or political weight of the title scare readers away. Popular YA authors use their exemplary storytelling skills to present stories set in a variety of countries, including Africa, Palestine, Jerusalem, Ireland, the United States, and England. Rita Williams-Garcia's jaunty short-story-in-verse style belies the contrasting events of the Hurricane Katrina debacle. Three high school teens, bolstered by their marching-band spirit, set off to find water for their families in New Orleans. What transpires is a devastating dose of reality as they witness rescue and governance gone wrong. In David Almond's "Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads," a pack of boys takes on the persona of tough blokes shoving about an English neighborhood during the late 1940s. Active and impulsive, they fall in with the oldest, coolest, meanest guy on the block. But when a new boy arrives from Germany, allegiances and dynamics shift. Independent Klaus is small but confident, and he risks standing up for himself. Strength of character is exposed, the group's status quo is broken, and the ability to say "no" is celebrated. Each selection cites the article(s) from the Declaration to which it relates.—Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0763649260
• ISBN 13: 9780763649265
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 202
• Editor: Amnesty International