an excellent collection of stories set in south africa during the apartheid years. each story is told from a child's perspective in a different decade, allowing much of south africa's history of racial segregation to be explored. what's more, the children are black, white, and indian - a very wonderfully humane way to tell a story without coming squarely down on a white-is-evil-and-black-is-good mantra. these are children who are often in conflict with their surroundings, as well as their elder's attitudes. a great read for modern children who never lived through the headlines of apartheid and are baffled by the spectacle of nelson mandela's funeral