• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 4, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 9.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Uplifting true story adapted for younger readers.

Why We Rated This for Ages 9 and Up

The good stuff

• Messages:

  Most of the behavior is inspirational, as Greg works to build schools in isolated, impoverished areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. A corrupt man steals some of Greg's building materials and tries to make him build a school in his village. When Greg tries to push the workers building the school, his mentor tells him, "We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here a long time." Greg says this taught him the most important lesson he ever learned: "Make building relationships as important as building projects ... I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them." A regional chief demands an unfair cut of profits and beats people who don't pay. He forces the village to pay half their wealth in exchange for his "permission" to build the school. Girls are forbidden to attend school in some areas and socially ostracized for pursuing their education even when schooling is available. An interview with Greg's daughter shows her to be an extremely articulate spokeswoman who urged her father to add playgrounds and free lunches to the schools. Some people (Americans) send Greg hate mail because they disagree with his politics.

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  Armed men kidnap Greg; he worries they'll murder him. Refugees escape a war zone; one girl dies on the way. Greg is in Pakistan on 9/11; his American companions worry about their safety there. Greg pushes an anti-violence message: "If we want a legacy of peace for our children," he says, "we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs."
• Sex:

  Greg kisses a woman he just met; they marry six days later.
• Language:

  A regional chief calls Greg a "kafir" (infidel).
• Consumerism:

  Greg sells all his possessions to fund his trip to Pakistan. In an interview, Greg's 12-year-old daughter says, "I think kids could totally care more. Instead of asking their mom for $20 to go buy this plastic kung fu ninja that came out, they could say, 'You know what, maybe I don't need this. Maybe I can buy nothing this time.' "
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Opium smugglers are mentioned.

What Parents Need to Know

About Three Cups of Tea

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