Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal follows author Conor Grennan as he travels to Nepal and volunteers at an orphanage. While he is volunteering he learns that the children are not orphans; their families have paid a steep price and for the promise that their children will be taken to safety away from Nepal's civil war. The book is a true story that follows Grennan's work to reunite the children with their families.
See information at Amazon and on the author's website.
Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.
1 comment:
This was a really great read. I like how it starts very honestly with a 29 year old man who wants to travel around the world, but decides to volunteer for a stint in an orphanage in Nepal as a way to legitimize this self indulgent trip. The author uses great humor throughout and also sticks to his story and opinions primarily. I think he's also really relatable in that he makes it very clear how hard this work was for him and he questioned his ability to do it often, but he stuck to it. (Some great themes for our students) I read some criticisms about the book stating that the author should have told more of the children's stories instead of making it about him, but I don't agree. I prefer people to tell their own stories and he does this well. There are plenty of stories regarding the children and they are compelling and almost unbelievable until you see the fascinating color pictures featured in the middle of the book. Some also say that he paints the Nepalese people as corrupt or unable to help themselves. There are plenty of stories in the book about Nepalese people doing great work and he does a beautiful job of complimenting them often about the beauty of the culture and spirit of Nepal. However, there was also a lot of corruption in his experiences and negative things occurring and I think he's fair but he doesn't justify that. This book is inspiring, funny, serious, and informative. I am generally quite skeptical of NGOs (the author starts his own) and I've also read some criticism about the author's NGO. Critics believe that he should have connected with an existing NGO ran by Nepalese people rather than starting his own as the "savior white guy" and painting himself as a hero. I couldn't agree less. Sure the author is getting some personal gain from this book, but I see nothing wrong with that. And I think he deserves the credit he's getting for doing great work. I think it's clear that he has a true passion for his work and I like that he started his own NGO with a clear specific aim and he seems to be running it well. I would have no problem promoting this work with our students and I wholly support this book as a great possibility for the Campus Reading Program.
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