This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Let Kids Live Free!

Craig Kielburger of Thornhill, Canada, is a superhero. He doesn't leap tall buildings or drive a Batmobile. But he does fight for justice. At 13, he has changed his government's ideas about child labor.

Just last year Craig started an organization called Free the Children. He had read a news story about a young boy in Pakistan whose parents had sold him to a rug weaver for $16 The boy was chained to a loom and forced to work. When he escaped and complained, he was killed. "It really upset me," says Craig.

Craig began to study about how kids are forced to do dangerous, backbreaking work in some countries. Then he began giving speeches about the cruelty of child labor. Soon he had raised more than $100,000 and built a group of 50 kids, ages 8 to 14, who wanted to help. Similar groups have now sprung up all over Canada.

Free the Children fights for the rights of kids who live almost as slaves. For pennies a day, they weave carpets, cut sugar cane or work in factories. They seldom laugh or play. "Is it right to have children in Pakistan sewing soccer balls that they will never get to play with?" Craig asks.

Two months ago, Craig traveled to Asia to see what kids there were experiencing. He met with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who was also visiting Asia. Craig convinced Chrétien that Canada must pressure other nations to stop child labor.

The Canadian government asked Craig to be an adviser on children's issues. Craig said no: "I should be working for my peers and not for the government." One thing he knows for sure: "Kids can make a difference."

Next: Top 5 Pets