"I appeal to you that you stop people from using children as bonded
laborers because the children need to use a pen rather than the instruments
of child labor." -Iqbal Masih,
12 years old, from his Reebok Youth in Action Award Acceptance Speech,
December 7, 1994

Leadership comes easily for Nadeem, the biggest and oldest boy in a rug
factory in Pakistan. But how can he lead the other child laborers to freedom
after he's been shamed and beaten for his first attempt? Nadeem and his
fellow workers are bonded laborers, children who work day and night to
pay off loans their families have accepted from a factory owner. While
Nadeem and his cousin Amina take pride in helping their poor families,
they feel trapped. They yearn to go to school and to have time to play.
One day a former carpet boy named Iqbal Masih leads a parade in the village.
New laws have abolished bonded labor! Iqbal urges Nadeem to fight for
freedom and to lead the children to a new school in town. Can Nadeem summon
the courage to try again? This fictional story honors the legacy of Iqbal
Masih, a real boy who had escaped from a factory. Protected and educated,
he worked to liberate child workers like Nadeem by the thousands. His
work won him the Reebok Youth in Action award and special recognition
at the International Labor Conference. When he returned to Pakistan after
his trip, he was fatally shot while riding his bicycle. He was only twelve,
but he had already made a difference in children's lives all over the
world.

Pegi Deitz Shea is the author of the award-winnining children's book
The Whispering Cloth, the novel Tangled Threads, and Ten Mice for Tet.
Leane Morin illustrated Shy Mama's Halloween for Tilbury House. She works
for a parenting organization but is often found at schools giving workshops
on book illustration.

Reach And Teach Recommendation

As we traveled through Afghanistan,
we met many children. The luckiest ones were those who had a chance to
go to school. Despite the absolute destruction of virtually everything
everywhere, each day we were amazed to see hundreds of children going
to or coming from some type of school.

Most of them knew how to say "Hello" and "How Are You?"

The children you see here are from a school in the Shamali Plains, an
area that saw massive bombing in the hunt for the remnants of the Taliban.
The school consisted of little more than tarps thrown on the ground and
tarps over head to protect the children from the sun.

The most precious gift members of our delegation could give any child
was a pen.

Here the children are showing one of our group how to write and pronounce
their names. The time we spent at this school was truly magical.

Yet sadly, while we were in Afghanistan, literally thousands of children
were either wandering the streets begging or working instead of being
in any kind of school. When a family is hungry and especially when a widow
is trying to raise her children alone, there is no choice but for the
children to go out and work. As we spoke to children and adults in the
United States about the plight of such children, hearts broke. But, inspiration
also struck! Classes full of children decided to work on projects to help
kids on the other side of the world go to school. Sister-school projects
were born. The Carpet Boy's Gift gives teachers and parents the
opportunity to spark that wonderful compassion that is waiting within
us all for just the right call. The illustrations are beautiful, the story
is powerful, and it reminds us all that children don't have to do this
kind of work any more, with our help, schools can protect them.

Parents, Teachers, and other
Youth Leaders Take Note:

People who put The
Carpet Boy's Gift on their reading lists will join ranks with earlier
generations who have chosen to introduce children to poverty and injustice
by assigning such fiction classics as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield,
and The Adventures of Huck Finn. The
Carpet Boy's Gift is a sensitive introduction to the subject of human
rights and the complicated issue of child labor. The central characters,
Nadeem and Amina, are bonded child laborers who work in a rug factory
in Pakistan. Although their earlier efforts to win freedom have been thwarted,
they are inspired after an encounter with Iqbal Masih to continue with
their efforts change their lives for the better by insisting on their
right to go to school. Iqbal Masih, a 12-year-old boy and human rights
activist, became a real life hero to thousands in his short life. A particular
strength of the book is that the author, Pegi Deitz Shea, depicts Nadeem's
and Amina's lives in a balanced light. Readers will see that these children,
like children everywhere, have both grim and joyful moments in their lives.
The book's message is that all kids share the same basic needs for family
and friends, and thrive when given opportunities for education and the
chance to participate in games, sports, or the arts.

The Carpet Boy's Gift will help inspire
classroom conversations about:

• Heroes, and learning to make a difference in
  the your community;
  
• The world of work (for elementary school aged
  children);
  
• Rug-making techniques and traditional designs
  for rugs;
  
• Culture of Pakistan and Middle East;
  
• Consumer awareness habits;
  
• Poverty and human rights;
  
• The role of the UN and Universal Children's
  Rights;
  
• Ethics in the global economy;
  
• Trade issues and social justice;
  
• History of child labor around the world (for
  middle school-aged children); and
• The important life opportunities that schools
  can provide children.

The book's back pages are extremely rich in child-centered
activities and resources which lead to more information about child labor
issues and encourage children to support companies that work to make the
world a better place for all.

The wonderful folks at Tilbury Books, the
publishers of The Carpet Boy's Gift, have provided us with this
rich set of activities and resources to share with you. Readers
who locate the books and visit the Internet sites included here can learn
more about the facts of Iqbal Masih's life, examine their own consumer
habits, explore what schools are like in different countries, and develop
new ideas about "human rights." These resources will also lead to valuable
discussions about acceptable and unacceptable work for children in a global
economy.

Click
here to visit a page with comprehensive resources and suggested activities.