Guidebook

• Guidebook for Child of Dandelions

STUDY GUIDE: The Child of Dandelions
The interpretations are based on one reader’s perception of the novel.

Table of Contents

• Context
• About the Author
• Key Facts
• Plot Overview
• Character List
• Individual Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

• Central Themes and Symbols
• Important Quotes
• Discussion Topics
• Works Referenced

Child of Dandelions sheds light on an often forgotten, dark period in the world’s history exemplified through the experiences of the teen protagonist, Sabine as she struggles to deal with her world falling apart.  

The clash of cultures between the ethnic Africans and East Indians (known as Asians) during the reign of the military dictator, Idi Amin in Uganda is attributed to poverty, prejudice and intolerance. History too played a part. The Author’s Note at the end of the novel highlights issues of class and race when the British Colonials ruled Uganda. Most Indians were educated and affluent and belonged to the merchant class while most Africans were poor and uneducated and worked as labourers. The military regime of Idi Amin exploited this factor to heighten the racial tensions between the communities. A parallel is drawn between the Indians in Uganda considered as undesirable similar to the Jews in Germany during the Second World War.
 
As the story progresses, the protagonist, Sabine realizes that Indian business people like Mr. Singh the shopkeeper, Lalita, Sabine’s neighbour and owner of a tea-house, as well as her family including she herself are also responsible for perpetuating racial and economic inequity due to their colonial attitude of superiority.

The context of the novel is best described by the following reviews.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:
“This is an absorbing story with historical detail and human dynamics. It's also a subject not often treated in literature for youth but one that resonates with issues closer to home, making this an important addition to young readers' understanding of twentieth-century history.” Volume 61, Number 8

Booklist
“Sabine is 15 years old in the summer of 1972, when Ugandan president Idi Amin issues his proclamation that all “foreign Indians” must leave the country within 90 days. Unlike many of the Indians in their Kampala community, Sabine was born in Uganda, and although she is of Indian ancestry, she feels as much a Ugandan as her best friend, Zena, an “ethnic African.” As the countdown continues, though, the terrifying street violence reaches into Sabine’s home, and she realizes that despite her family’s Ugandan citizenship, they aren’t immune from the president’s decree. Nanji, who grew up in East Africa, exposes a period of shocking, rarely viewed political history in this vivid story that makes the horrors feel both personal and universal. Sabine’s close, realistic friendship with Zena, who admires “Dada Amin,” mirrors societal warfare over issues of class, race, and nationhood. The story’s authentic emotions and relationships balance the detailed cultural and historical explanations and combine in a gripping story of a remarkable teen who helps her family face impossible loss.”
— Gillian Engberg
Herizons Magazine
Child of Dandelions is a lovely story written with an honesty one rarely sees, with sounds one hardly hears and with scents one seldom inhales - it smells like a thousand roses, all at once, and roars like a lion, reminding us that writing is meant to stretch our jaws wide enough and long enough that we can inhale the scent of its blood - the blood of the written word.” —Rozena Maart, Spring 2009
For other reviews see the author’s website at <http://www.snanji.com>

Shenaaz Nanji was born on the ancient island of Mombasa, one of the oldest settlements on the East African coast, and grew up amid a fusion of cultures: Bantu-Swahili, Arabic, colonial British, and East Indian. Every year she visited her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins in Uganda until Idi Amin turned them into refugees. She moved to the United States and lived in upstate New York before moving to Canada, where she now lives with her family. She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College and has written several books for children.

Child of Dandelions was a finalist for the Canadian prestigious award of Governor General Literary in 2008 and nominated as Notable Book for Global Society by International Reading Association in 2009.  

“This is a gripping drama about a fascinating fragment of time in history – the
expulsion of Indians from Uganda in 1972. Fifteen-year-old Sabine poignantly
straddles two worlds – those of the landed Indian gentry and of the native Ugandans
amid wrenching turmoil. Quietly and crisply written, all of Nanji’s characters are beautifully realized, morally nuanced and compellingly crafted.”
Canada Council of Arts

“Several committee members praised Child of Dandelions for teaching us about an often-forgotten aspect of the world’s history and expanding readers’ perspectives on the world. The protagonist is complex, and our committee was quite impressed with how her innocence and trust are challenged the events around her. Many of us considered this title to be a page turner, and we found it hard to put the book down.”
Barbara A. Ward, N.B.G.S. Chair

For other awards see the author’s website at <http://www.snanji.com>

title · Child of Dandelions

genre & type · Young Adult; Coming-of-age; Bildungsroman; Historical Fiction

setting time and place written · Uganda, 1970s

date of first publication · 2008

publisher  -  Boyds Mills Press Inc. in U.S.A.
                   -  Second Story Press in Canada

narrator  · Third-person narrative mode.

protagonist  · Sabine

climax  · Sabine’s ride to Entebbe Airport in “Searched to the Skin”

antagonist  · Idi Amin and his soldiers including One Eleven and Baobab
   

falling action  · Sabine and Munchkin leave Uganda in “Going, Going, Going”

tense  · Past tense

tone · The story encompasses emotions such as fear, sadness, confusion, anger, betrayal and loss and ends with hope and optimism.

key themes  · Issues of Race, Class and Gender, Identity, Individual’s struggle against                   
Society and Political forces, Friendship; The Rule of Law; Loyalty; Military Tyranny

symbols  · Dandelions; Tree of Life Makonde Sculpture

Child of Dandelions unfolds through the perspective of Sabine, a teenager caught amidst the political turmoil in Uganda. Her journey of self-discovery and growth from innocence to experience is reminiscent of characters like Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Frances Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

The story begins when the military dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin has a dream in which God wants all “foreign Indians” to be weeded out and expelled from the country, and the narrative extends through the countdown period of 90 days.

Initially, this new expulsion law seems fair and just. Sabine and her family are exempt from it – they are Indians who have lived in Uganda for three generations and are Uganda citizens. The law is targeted at British Indians like Lalita who hold British passport yet continue to do business in Uganda. However as the countdown progresses, the soldiers harass anyone with brown skin, regardless of their citizenship.

The country’s conflict is mirrored in Sabine’s friendship with Zena. Sabine is East Indian while Zena is ethnic African. Sabine’s life of privilege is starkly juxtaposed with Zena’s lower-class status. Soon Sabine’s favourite Uncle disappears, and her best friend, Zena abandons her. The soldiers raid Sabine’s house, forcing her parents to flee, leaving Sabine and her brother, Munchkin behind with their Bapa and neighbour, Lalita. Whereas Sabine initially agrees with her father that they are Uganda citizens and thus immune from the expulsion order, she begins to realize that her mother is right, that their brown skin makes them undesirable and unwanted.

Sabine helps unite her family and they are forced to leave the country just before the countdown of 90 days expires. Idi Amin’s dream uproots Sabine from her home, but she resolves to begin a new life in Canada.

Sabine: The fifteen year old girl is the protagonist and the expulsion of East Indians from Uganda is viewed through her eyes. She lives a protected and privileged life in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, but spends her school-holidays at her Bapa’s farm. Here, she meets her African friends, Zena and her brother, Ssekore, both of whom work on the farm. Sabine is bright, stubborn and caring but naïve. She recognizes that she is fearsome like her mother but tries to emulate her brave father and Bapa. She loves to dance and her dances express her feelings of fear, wonder, sadness and hope. She is very close to her Uncle Lollipop and is devastated when he suddenly disappears. As she matures, she realizes that her family and community are as prejudiced as the soldiers are. Initially, she tries to appease both her father and her mother who have opposing views. Later, she realizes that she can draw upon the best characteristics of both parents to forge her own individual identity. At the end of 90 days of countdown when Sabine leaves Uganda we see her as sad but hopeful about her future and as resilient as a dandelion.
Munchkin: He is Sabine’s younger brother who has Downs’s syndrome. His given name is Minaz but Sabine affectionately calls him Munchkin. His favourite toy is his stuffed monkey, Milo. Due to his disability, Papa makes Sabine his ‘brave boy’ and decides that she will inherit their family wealth. 
Papa: He is Sabine’s father, a rich, proud, hard-working business man, who works long hours. Sabine observes that he comes home late and is often weary. As the story progresses, readers learn that he runs a loan-shark business that charges high interest rates to his clients, who are poor African farmers who cannot get bank loans. 
Mama: She is Sabine’s mother, who is portrayed as fearful and worrisome. She was about Sabine’s age when her father and brothers were all brutally killed by Hindus for being Muslims during the partition of Pakistan and India. The only survivor in Mama’s family was her younger brother Zulfiqar (Zully for short) or Uncle Lollipop whom she brings up and to whom she is very close. Like Sabine, Mama is heartbroken when Uncle disappears.      
Uncle Lollipop: He is Sabine’s favourite uncle as well as Mama’s younger brother, Zully. He is a Safari race-car driver, who loves cars and drives a flashy red sports car that attracts trouble. When he goes missing, Sabine makes it her mission to find him. He can be viewed as a foil to Captain Asafa.
Bapa: He is Sabine’s grandfather also known as Simba or Lion. Being a farmer, Bapa uses farming metaphors to inspire hope in Sabine against oppression and persecution by the military regime. He emigrated from India as a young boy to help build the Kenya-Uganda railway for the British Colonials and now considers Uganda as his home. As the terror by the soldiers mounts and the Indians begin to flee the country but Bapa refuses to leave. He loves the land and unlike other Indians he has completely assimilated with the African community and has secretly married Captain Asafa’s sister, Halima, an African. 
Lalita: She is Sabine’s neighbour, who owns a tea-house in Little India. Sabine calls her Queen Lalita. Lalita is always well dressed and very shrewd, often overcharging her customers. She is prejudiced and regards Africans as lazy and inferior. She instils fear in Mama that Mama should leave the country and boasts that she is glad she is British - she is safe and can go to Britain anytime. However the British government enforces a quota to restrict the number of Indians entering Britain even if they have British passports. At first, Sabine expresses her annoyance with Lalita but later on she appreciates Laslita’s help and support.
Zena: Zena is short for Zenabu. She is an ethnic African and Sabine’s best friend. Both girls enjoy dancing and biking in Kampala and also meet every school holiday at Bapa’s farm. The racial and class tensions in Uganda are mirrored in their friendship which falls apart when Zena accuses Sabine’s father of being a loan shark. In the final scene, the girls reunite and share apologies and tears.
Ssekore: He is Zena’s older brother and Sabine has a secret crush on him. He works in Bapa’s farm during school-holidays but the reader never meets him.
Captain Asafa: He is Zena and Ssekore’s Uncle, who cared for them after their mother died, and their father abandoned them. Initially, Sabine is suspicious of the Captain and realizes to her surprise later that he used his influence to protect her family. He can be viewed as a foil to Uncle Lollipop.
Aunty Halima: She is Captain Asafa’s sister and thus the aunt of Zena and Ssekore. She works as a farm manager on Bapa’s farm, is married to Bapa, and lives discreetly with him.
Katana: He is the one-eyed, African servant of Sabine’s family, who has worked for them for many years - since Sabine was a baby.  He is of the Langi tribe and a target of the military regime for supporting the ex-president, Obote also a Langi. Katana is very fond of Sabine and has named his own daughter after her. In fact, he is more of a companion to Sabine. He gives her a magic chicken feather to protect her from the soldiers. His belief in magic makes him a comedic and loveable character. He accompanies Sabine to meet  the bodyfinders and is beaten up by the soldiers during the raid at Sabine’s house but his loyalty for Sabine and her family never falters.
Bodyfinders: They are a pair of detectives who hastily set up a business to find the rising number of missing people in Uganda. The bodyfinders are aware that most of the missing people are killed by the soldiers. Sabine hires them to search for her missing uncle.
Mzee: He is Sabine’s family’s old and loyal driver who is forced to give up Papa’s Mercedes to the soldiers. Concerned about Sabine, he comes to look for her when she is with the bodyfinders at the Meat Warehouse.  
The Soldiers: The brutality of the soldiers is epitomized by Butabika or One Eleven, identified by the emblem of the gazelle on his sleeve and three vertical scars on his face like the numbers one hundred and eleven. One Eleven kills the goat in the first scene and refuses to let Sabine leave the country in the last scene. Another solider, that Sabine calls Baobab, is responsible for the raid at Sabine’s house and for ripping Munchkin’s kipande because he is angry that Sabine will not respond to his sexual favours.

Day One: The Dream

Summary: The story opens with two best friends, Sabine and Zenabu (Zena) on Allidina Visram Street in Kampala, Uganda. The friends are caught amidst a parade of cheering Africans who are chanting “Indian, go home.” Readers learn that Sabine is an East Indian while her friend Zena is an African. Zena tries to comfort Sabine and convince her that she is not affected since she is Uganda citizen, but a demonstrator spits on Sabine and yells at her to go back to India. Later at home, Sabine and her family learn that President Idi Amin, head of the military regime has a dream in which God directs him to expel all foreign Indians from Uganda within 90 days. 

Analysis: In the opening chapter, readers witness the racial tensions in Ugandan society. The spitting incident followed by the rioting, when people throw stones, break into Indian shops and steal what they can while the police stand by idly, foreshadows racial trouble that will soon unfold. When Sabine returns home, we are introduced to her family – Papa, Mama and her brother, Munchkin. The contrast between Papa and Mama is apparent; Papa laughs at the new expulsion law passed by President Idi Amin while Mama’s brown eyes grow wide with fear. The differences in their characters and attitudes are expounded throughout the story.

As Sabine and her family listen to the radio, two themes are introduced. One theme is the social class hierarchy in Uganda in the 1970s. Papa demonstrates the superior attitude of Indians when he asserts: “We may be a handful of golden raisins among eleven million, but we control Uganda’s economy. You can’t bite the hand that feeds you.” This assertion can be viewed as hubristic and introduces a controversial idea that the Indians may be complicit in their own tragic downfall.
 
The second theme that permeates the novel is the comparison of Indians to weeds or dandelions. The radio declares that foreign Indians will be “weeded” out of Uganda. This garden and weed imagery is similar to that of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Act I scene iv, Marcellus states one of the plays infamous lines: “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” The metaphor of a rotten garden or state symbolizes the corruption and greed that led Macbeth to inherit the position of King of Denmark. In drawing upon this imagery of a rotten garden or state, Nanji seems to imply that Uganda, like Denmark, is falling prey to the evil and avarice of its rulers.

Day 8: The Goat; Zenabu; Home

Summary: Sabine continues with her routine while the countdown is announced frequently on the radio. Every Sunday she meets with Zena. This Sunday Uncle Lollipop drives her to Zena’s place in his flashy red sports car. However, their drive comes to a stop when a stray goat holds up traffic in the middle of the road. A soldier, Butabika, with scars on his cheek in the shape of One Eleven, kills the goat. When an impatient African taxi-driver behind Uncle’s car honks loudly, the soldier turns furious. He assumes that it is Uncle in the flashy red sports car who has dared to honk at him and roughs him up. Sabine gathers up courage and informs the soldier that Uncle is innocent and he is let off. As Uncle and Sabine speed off in the car, they hear a gunshot.

Uncle Lollipop drops Sabine to Zena’s flat, where she and her brother, Ssekore, live with their Uncle Asafa. Sabine shares her encounter with Butabika, (One Eleven soldier) with Zena who comforts her. The girls trade dresses. Zena wears the Indian lengha and Sabine wears the traditional African gomesi. Then they dance but Sabine’s steps express her fear she has experienced earlier with the Butabika soldier. Zena is upset that Sabine has strayed from their choreographed dance moves, but Ssekore, who is eavesdropping, praises Sabine’s moves. As Sabine leaves Zena’s flat she bumps into Captain Asafa and is chilled to see that his military shirt has the same insignia as the One Eleven solider that shot the goat and roughed up Uncle.
Sabine and Uncle Lollipop make a pact not to tell worrisome Mama about the soldier and the goat incident. Mama chastises Sabine for not playing with her neighbourhood Indian friends. Sabine says that “mixing her African and Indian friends was like mixing oil with water.” At night, the bloody goat invades Sabine’s dreams.

Analysis: The juxtaposition of Sabine’s life of privilege with the life of Africans is apparent. As Uncle Lollipop drives from Sabine’s house towards Zena’s flats the setting changes dramatically. The “red roofed villas” and the lush “frangipani trees” fade away and instead the tin shanties of the slums are visible. Indian families, including Sabine’s, have taken over the homes of the mzungus, the whites. Sabine’s ostentatious home with its vast open foyer, marble floor and Paradise garden is in sharp contrast with Zena’s simple flat. It should also be noted that when Sabine visits her friend Zena, she strips off her white socks and replaces her new black shiny shoes with African sandals.

The subsequent scene with the goat introduces the readers to the violence of the soldiers. Sabine stands up to the soldier in an attempt to be her father’s “brave boy.” She struggles with a culture that defines the male sex as strong and resilient and the female sex as soft and yielding. At first glance Sabine’s mother and father fit these stereotypical gender roles; however, readers learn when Sabine’s mother was growing up she witnessed the brutal murders of her father and brothers. This helps readers sympathize with Mama’s worrisome personality and suggests that she may be stronger than Sabine realizes.

When Sabine and Uncle drive away, it is unclear if the soldiers shot in the air or if they shot the taxi driver.

Is this a deliberate omission by Nanji?

What effect does this omission have on readers?

The friendship between Sabine and Zena symbolizes the bridging between the two races. The exchange of dresses symbolizes harmony between the two cultures. However, Sabine’s improvised dance of ‘fear’ arising from the goat incident breaks this harmony. Nanji foreshadows tension between the friends. When Sabine expresses her hatred for soldiers, Zena is quick to disagree and defends her Uncle, Captain Asafa, as a good solider and calls Idi Amin, her hero. Suspicion is also cast on Captain Asafa who is linked to One Eleven by the insignia on their clothing.

Day 9: The Feather and Day 12: Lalita

Summary: In the next few chapters, readers meet two more characters who have a big impact on Sabine throughout the story – the family servant, Katana and their neighbour, Lalita. When Katana wakes Sabine up in the morning with his rooster sounds, his face is covered in white paste to ward off evil. He warns Sabine that the “countdown monster” will eat her and gives her a magic chicken feather that will turn bullets into water. This is reminiscent of the Maji Maji rebellion by the locals against the colonial government in Tanganyika (now Tanzania.). We also learn that Sabine’s family helps Katana by paying his school fees.

In the next chapter we meet Queen Lalita, owner of a tea-house in Kampala. She boasts that she is lucky she is British and retained her British citizenship and kept her British passport offered by the British Colonials when they ruled Uganda. Lalita instils fear in Mama that their Ugandan passport is useless because their brown skin makes them targets. Initially Sabine dislikes Lalita - she irritates Munchkin and hides his toy, causing him to have a tantrum forcing Lalita to leave their house.

Analysis: The use of Katana’s magic feather in the story introduces elements of magical realism. Magic realism is a genre in which magic and the supernatural appear in otherwise realistic settings. It is often associated with Latin American authors including Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. Immigrant authors often use magical realism to indicate a shift in culture or perspective. It is also used in postcolonial literature to critique the rational empirical worldview of the West. As history shows, colonialist practices of the West destroyed the cultures and beliefs of local African tribes.

Day 12: The Fight; Day 13: Where is Uncle?

Summary: Uncle does not show up for dinner. Mama is worried and fears something is amiss but Papa dismisses her fears and says they are “body, soul and by law one hundred percent Ugandan.” After dinner, Papa takes Sabine into his office and shows her an African artefact, the Makonde of “Tree of Life.”

Sabine’s world begins to change. Her teachers and classmates leave Uganda. The remaining teachers, like Mr. Corky, are harassed and humiliated because they are foreigners. Sabine builds a model car for Uncle and plans to give it to him on his birthday.

Analysis: Nanji gives more insight into Sabine’s family. The Tree of Life Makonde sculpture depicts past and present generations holding and supporting one another. It symbolizes how Sabine’s ancestors struggled and worked hard to settle in Uganda. Readers learn that Bapa was recruited from India by the British Colonials to build the Kenya-Ugandan railway. By showing the African sculpture the author seems to imply that Papa despite his superiority complex has assimilated into the African culture.   

Papa’s talk on the Makonde sculpture also raises crucial questions:
Was it wrong for the Indians in Uganda to exhibit their wealth – large mansions, servants, flashy cars and jewellery, - they have accumulated as a result of their hard-work and sacrifices?
Should the Indians have remained inconspicuous?  
Did this factor bring about the expulsion of Indians from Uganda?
 

Days 15 – 21: Little India;  Day 22: Lalita’s Teahouse

Summary: Sabine and Zena visit Little India. In contrast to Sabine’s experience of racial discrimination in the opening scene, now Zena is a victim of racial insults. Mr. Singh, a shop-keeper, treats Zena as if she is Sabine’s servant. Hurt and angry Zena defiantly exclaims her joy that Dada Amin will ‘weed out’ foreign Indians like Mr. Singh. At home, Mama and Papa notify the police that Uncle is missing and the wait for his return continues.

The next time Zena and Sabine meet at Lalita’s teahouse, the best friends have their first disagreement. Zena calls Uncle’s passport activity magendo, corruption. Sabine is hurt and defends Uncle as helping those who are treated unfairly by the government. Their disagreement is interrupted when soldiers break into Lalita’s tea-house and falsely accuse Lalita of tearing the President’s photograph as it is not displayed in her teahouse. Sabine saves the day by lying that Lalita gave her the photo to be framed.

Analysis: In this chapter, the division between Sabine and Zena grows. In Little India, the beggar, Amina Goli’s expectations shows the pervasiveness of the class hierarchy in Ugandan society. As a beggar, Amina expects the whites to give her the most money, followed by the Indians and the least from Africans.

At Lalita’s teahouse it is apparent from Zena’s side comments that she does not like Lalita. Zena has seen Lalita mistreat the African workers, calling them useless and using derogatory terms to describe them. Later Sabine protects Lalita from the soldiers when they wrongly accuse her of tearing the photograph of President Idi Amin. Zena feels betrayed and walks away without wishing goodbye to Sabine.  The incident gives rise to a question: Who is wrong?  The soldiers or Zena or Lalita or Sabine?

Days 23 – 28: The Midnight Train; Day 29: In the Park; Day 30: Papa’s Office

Summary: In the next few chapters, Sabine’s world turns upside down. An Africanization policy forces her school to replace all foreign language classes with Swahili and appoint a new African headmaster. Uncle’s car is found abandoned at the airport. Sabine tells Papa about her secret encounter with Butabika (One Eleven) soldier in case it helps the police find Uncle.

Despite the increasing tension with Zena, Captain Asafa drops Zena to Sabine’s house for their usual Sunday outing. Sabine makes an extra special effort to offer Zena’s lemonade and her favourite biscuits. The girls bike to a nearby park where they have yet another altercation. Zena calls Sabine’s father a loan shark and says he takes advantages of Africans just like Uncle Lollipop. In a highly symbolic moment, Sabine gets angry at Zena for ripping out the dandelions on the field.

At home, Sabine sneaks into her father’s office, goes through his drawers to find a biscuit tin filled with money. She confronts her father and learns that he helps poor farm workers who are refused loans from the bank and charges interest only to cover bad debt and the money in the biscuit tin is just a decoy for thieves.
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Analysis: As Zena braids Sabine’s hair in the park we learn more about the Indian culture. Cross-marriage between the Indian and Africans is taboo and thus rare.
An extract from a review describes the braiding in the park. “…the girls braid one another's hair - knotting the known and the unknown - and, in the process, learn of the pains of belonging and dispossession. They each love the other until distance - the defence mechanism invented for colonial encounters - is created so that the girl who stays can tell herself that her Indian friend is better off leaving, that she does not belong…”    Rozena Maart, Herizons Magazine, Inc Spring 2009

At the park, the girls have an altercation about Sabine’s father,; it is similar to the earlier disagreement about Uncle Lollipop’s passport business. Two interpretations of Papa’s business are provided: Zena refers to him as a loan shark, stealing money from the poor. However, when Sabine confronts Papa he describes his business as helping others.
Which interpretation should the readers believe?
This raises a question about the deeper disagreements between the ethnic Africans and East Indians in Uganda in the 1970s – to what extent does the clash between the two communities, originate from misperception?

Zena’s uprooting the dandelions is rich in symbolism. This is the second reference to the dandelions in the story. Given the title of the book, it is clear the dandelion has particular import and significance. The dandelion represents the resilience and strength of the Indians. However, the word also connotes a weed that is undesirable as the Indians were.

­­Day 36: At Zena’s; Day 36: Mengo; Days 37 – 42: The Breakdown

Summary: The next Sunday arrives. Sabine learns that Indians are not the only group being targeted. The Langi tribe, of which Katana is a member, is also being targeted because it is the tribe of the ex-President, Obote. Sabine goes on her weekly scheduled trip to see Zena but is told to leave. Zena’s uncle, Captain Asafa, has been promoted in the army so Zena says that they can no longer associate with Indians.

Hurt and angry, Sabine reflects on their past. She always helped Zena on the farm to finish her chores so they could get more time to play. She recalls the friendship tree they had planted and their pact to remain friends forever. She decides to find Ssekore and visits Mengo Hill, a slum area in Kampala for the first time in her life. She is shocked to witness the poverty and degradation of how the Africans live and leaves without meeting Ssekore.

In the next few days, Sabine waits for Zena to apologize but she never calls. Terror reigns in the Indian community when Mr. Madhvani, a prominent Indian businessman is arrested because his daughter-in-law refused to have sexual relations with Idi Amin. Mama talks about Uncle in the past tense but Sabine refuses to give up and resolves to find him.
Analysis: Readers see a big growth in Sabine’s character. She feels like an “alien” in the slums at Mengo. The Africans live in shanties. The barefoot totos have protruding bellies due to malnutrition The stench from the sewage contrasts with Sabine’s comfortable life. She begins to understand why Zena and other Africans root for Idi Amin, why they anxiously wait for the day the rich Indians will leave, why they want to take over their homes, shops and farms. She decides she will not look for Ssekore and gives up her crush on him.

Sabine also realizes that she has never interacted with her driver Mzee; she knows nothing about him or his family; doesn’t even know his name. When Mzee tells her that he is working to save to have water piped to their village home, Sabine is both grateful and ashamed. When she wants to access water all she needs to do is to turn on the tap.

A debate about fate and fortune emerges as a flashback on Bapa’s farm. Zena is bitter and says that fate depends on destiny and on who their forefathers are. She says, a “chief’s son will be a chief” and a “king’s son a king.” Ssekore disagrees and says they can change their destiny.
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Are individuals victims of fate and circumstance or are they agents of change?
What chapters in the novel show Sabine acting as an agent and taking charge to control her own destiny?
Who is right and what implications does this have? 

Days 43-59: War Days; Day 63: The Detectives; Days 67-72: The Raid

Summary: Radio Uganda spreads propaganda that Tanzania is at war with Uganda and that the Tanzanian government is using Chinese experts against the Ugandan soldiers. Subsequently the radio states that the British have invaded Uganda. Then Katana comes home walking from grocery shopping trembling with fear because the soldiers have stolen Papa’s Mercedes at gun point. Katana confides in Sabine and tells her that a lo of dead men are being dumped in the lake but she is in disbelief. Sabine finds an advertisement in the newspaper that guarantees to find the missing loved ones and hires a pair of detectives called the bodyfinders to find her missing Uncle Lollipop. The bodyfinders inform her that her uncle has offended President Idi Amin’s special police, the State Research Bureau (SRB), and this may be the reason why he has disappeared.

Soldiers break into Sabine’s home chanting that they want to kill Papa. Sabine sends her father into hiding. He realizes that he is putting his family in danger and leaves for Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya.

Analysis: In the next few chapters, Sabine’s quick-thinking saves her family. When the soldiers break into their house, she devises a plan for her father to escape and covers up evidence that the dinner table was set for four people. Sabine’s agency indicates the beginning of her transition and coming-of-age from adolescence to adulthood.

At first, readers wonder why Radio Uganda stated rumours. Subsequently, it is clear that these are diversion tactics used by the military regime to divert attention from internal conflicts within the army. Later we learn from Katana that the soldiers are involved in ethnic cleansing of the Langi tribe, who supported the ex-President Obote.

The techniques of propaganda, ethnic cleansing and house raids has occurred in other vicious regimes - under Joseph Stalin in the USSR and Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany. The violence is best illustrated when Baobab, a soldier, breaks into Sabine’s house and slits the throat of Munchkin’s stuffed monkey to terrorize them.

Sabine overhears that the soldiers have orders from the Captain not to harm them and wonders if they are referring to Captain Asafa. It should be observed unlike other servants who turned on their Indian employers, Katana remains dutiful and faithful to Sabine’s family

The bodyfinders hired by Sabine to find her missing uncle are foils of one another – one is short and round and the other is tall and slim. One is shrewd and wants to make money at all costs, the other is kind. It is ironical that they are making money and doing well in times of crises. These characters relieve the tension and introduce comic relief in the novel. Why is this necessary?

Day 73: Mama; Day 74: Bapa

Summary: After the raid, Sabine’s father is stuck and stranded at the Ugandan-Kenyan border and cannot enter Kenya. He sends a message through his African friends to tell Mama that he needs chai, a codeword for bribe or cash. To Sabine’s surprise, Mama fearlessly volunteers to go. While Mama is away, Bapa arrives to take care of Sabine and Munchkin. He tries to inspire hope with farming metaphors. Just as the coffee seeds face drought, floods and pests, they must face the hardships in life.

The next day Mama calls to inform Sabine that she and Papa are safe. Sabine expresses her excitement through her dancing. Her dances reflect her inner emotions and act as a form of catharsis or relief.

Analysis: More progression in Sabine’s character is shown. She begins to treat Katana as an equal and less as a servant. She invites him to sit on their dinner table and drink from the same cups they use. A new relationship of egalitarianism is forged.

When Mama leaves to help Papa at the border, Sabine realizes that while “Papa was the head of their family…Mama was the heart.” She redefines stereotypical male notions of courage and questions what “color” of courage she holds.

Bapa tries to inspire Sabine with his farming laws but Sabine believes it is unfair that some crops receive good weather while others experience drought and disease. Once again, this raises questions of fate, fortune and destiny. 

Day 74: The Warehouse; New Rule

Summary: Sabine calls regularly to receive updates from the bodyfinders. When she receives new information that some prisoners are held at the Meat Warehouse, she insists on going there immediately to see if her uncle is there. But the bodyfinders are reluctant to take her; they claim the warehouse is an unfit place for a young woman.

Sabine asks Mzee their driver to follow the bodyfinders car to the warehouse. In the freezer room at the warehouse, they stumble upon tortured bodies sealed in plastic bags. Sabine is horrified and thinks the bodyfinders have misunderstood her. She reiterates to them that her uncle is alive and well and work forwards to find him.

At home, Sabine tells Bapa about the bodyfinders and the dead bodies in the warehouse. when they hear about a new rule on television - Indians who claim to be Uganda citizens and want to stay in Uganda will need to carry kipande, identification cards with them at all times. To get the cards they must line up with their documents and prove to the officials that they are Ugandans. But Sabine’s parents are held up in neighbouring Kenya. Sabine declares that she is Simba’s child and will get the identity cards for her family by herself.

Analysis: Before Sabine enters the warehouse, the author foreshadows evil and death in two ways: first, the bodyfinders insist on driving away evil chen spirits. Second, a marabou stork appears, akin to a vulture, a harbinger of death. Uganda is described as a cavernous abdomen that feeds on its own people and as possessing a disease that “multiplies, spreads and invades.” The metaphor highlights the self-destructive nature of Idi Amin’s rule that will destroy Uganda from within.

At this point in the novel, Sabine’s story is reminiscent of Anne Frank in Germany during the Second World War. Just as the military dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, targeted Indians and incited race hatred, Hitler and his army incited anti-Semitism. The Jews in Germany were forced to wear the Star of David. Similarly the Indians in Uganda were forced to carry kipandes, identification cards at all times. Both stories are told by a child protagonist whose strength, resolve, and quick-thinking helps save their own lives and the lives of their family. Both girls find themselves amidst the political turmoil and are forced to quickly mature into young adults. Both stories are about hope, courage and inspiration in a dark period in history.

Sabine identifies herself as Simba’s child, Lion’s child. Nanji’s use of the word, lion implies several interpretations. Lion is a wild animal that symbolizes bravery and strength. However, it also exhibits pride, a major sin. The display of wealth by Indians was interpreted by the Africans as pride and arrogance.

Day 83: Kipande Line

Summary: Lalita accompanies Sabine and Munchkin to get their kipandes. Sabine laments that her family’s situation is a product of the hand that “fate had dealt.” As they stand in the scorching sun, Lalita suffers heat stroke. Sabine forces Lalita to leave which leaves her and Munchkin behind. Readers witness the soldiers’ cruelty first-hand when they mistreat an old man for no apparent reason.

Analysis: In the kipande lineup we see the different Indian communities affected by the Idi Amin’s laws. “Punjabi, Hindu, Bohra, Ithnasri, Sikh, Ismaili, and Goan. They had only one thing in common – their skin color. Brown.” Nanji cautions readers from essentialzing individuals based on the color of their skin, that each of the communities were separate and distinct from each other, they had different religions, spoke different languages, had different dressing, food, and cultures
 
Sabine’s comments on fate and fortune are thought-provoking. Throughout the story, she exerts agency and takes the situation in her own hands – in the car with Uncle Lollipop, at Lalita’s tea shop and in the raid of her house. The question raised is - Does Sabine’s constant exertion of agency disprove this notion of fate?
The Rota Fortunae, also known as the Wheel of Fortune, is a medieval philosophical concept that highlights the capricious and random nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the Roman Goddess Fortuna, who spins it at random, so that some court luck, others suffer great misfortunes. The dilemma of fate and fortune has been explored extensively by critics in Shakespearean works such as Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.
Day 83: Verification of Documents; The Run

Summary: When Sabine enters the room where kipandes are issued, she recognizes Baobab behind the desk. He is the soldier who raided their home. She tries to placate Baobab telling him that her father can build a house for him. Baobab tries to take advantage of Sabine but she pushes him away. In retaliation, he rips off Munchkin’s passport. Sabine spits on the soldier and runs away with Munchkin.

Sabine and Munchkin run to a nearby bus depot and take a bus home. Sabine finds a tag similar to the ones taped to the body bags of dead men at the Meat Warehouse. The name-tag, “Zulfiqar Manji,” says it all it is the name of Sabine’s uncle. Bapa confirms the news and says that Uncle’s body was found. Upon hearing Sabine’s story, Bapa decides that it is no longer safe to stay at home and that they must leave immediately.

Analysis: These chapters highlight the importance of memories, the power of remembrance and the meaning of home. As Sabine packs to leave she realizes that someone else will become the new owner of her home and all her possessions. She cannot take everything with her but she will carry the “stories of her life” with her. Similarly, Uncle is gone but she will keep him alive through memories. She redefines the meaning of home. “It’s just a house, she thought. It became a home only when it was filled with the love, trust, and hopes of her family. Turtles carry their homes with them so they are always at home. I will carry my home with me.”

Day 83 – 84: The Sky Be Very Angry

Summary: Kampala is deserted, turned into a “Ghost city.” Sabine, Munchkin, Bapa and Lalita stay at Apollo Hotel, which is filled with Indians ready to leave Uganda. Sabine calls her parents in Nairobi and informs them that she and Munchkin will meet them. Katana visits Sabine to give Mama’s jewels. In an emotionally moving scene, he begs Sabine to take him with her.

Analysis: Katana’s loyalty to Sabine contrasts with the betrayal of servants of other Indian families and Zena’s betrayal of Sabine’s friendship. At the Apollo Hotel, Lalita receives an update of the events occurring on the streets. The Africans have taken over the shops owned by Indians in Little India; Lalita mocks the new African owners because of their ignorance – for instance they determine the price of a shirt based on its size label. Sabine sympathizes with the Africans and understands that their inexperience stems from the fact that the Indians prevented the Africans from learning entrepreneurial and business skills.

Day 85: High Tea; Day 87 – 88: A New Sabine;
Day 89: Searched to the Skin; Going, Going, Going

Summary: The chapter opens with the symbol of a crested crane, Uganda’s national bird, which ironically symbolizes advancement and progression. Sabine aptly notes the hypocrisy. The countdown monster in the radio states that all Indians, (not just foreign Indians) have five days remaining to leave the country. Sabine tries to convince Bapa to leave the country as well but he refuses stating that his “blood, sweat and tears” are entrenched into Uganda’s soil. He confesses that he and Halima, Zena’s aunt, have been secretly married and living together. When Sabine calls her father, she pre-empts him before he calls her his “brave boy” and says she is his “brave girl.”

Sabine, Munchkin and Bapa go to the temporary United Nations office in downtown Kampala to pick up their refugee papers. To her delight, Sabine learns that Canada will accept her family as refugees. She rips her kipande, celebrating an end to tyranny.

The next chapters narrate Sabine’s final days in Uganda. She asks Lalita to cut her hair and wears pants and Munchkin’s shirt to appear as a boy so that Baobab and other soldiers would not recognize her. When they leave for the airport Sabine hides their suitcases behind the coffee sacks at the back of Bapa’s lorry so the soldiers assume they are heading for the farm and will not bother them.

Sabine and Lalita shed tears as they catch the final glimpses of their homeland. On the way Bapa is forced to make several stops at roadblocks to bribe the soldiers with cigarettes and pay chai to pass the roadblocks. However, at one roadblock there are several cars and the soldiers order the Indians to line up. Ahead of Sabine in the line is Mr. Singh, the shopkeeper who insulted Zena early in the story. He is with his aged mother. The soldiers harass them and try to steal and remove the wedding bangle from the old woman’s arm that she has worn for fifty-five years. When the stubborn bangle holds the soldier threatens to cut off her hand. Sabine’s quick thinking saves the situation. She asks a soldier to bring some soap, which she rubs on the old woman’s wrist and her bangle slips off

At another road block, Sabine meets Butabika, the One-Eleven soldier, who killed the goat and roughed up her uncle at the beginning of the story. He claims that Sabine’s refugee paper is forged because it shows the picture of a girl while she is a boy. Bapa volunteers to stay to sort out the trouble and urges Sabine to leave. She leaves reluctantly with Lalita and Munchkin and drives Bapa’s lorry the rest of the way to Entebbe airport.

At the airport, Sabine is shocked to see Zena. She is completely transformed – she wears a short red leather skirt with matching boots and extensive makeup. In contrast, Sabine is sweaty and grimy from her long journey and her “scruffy white shirt” is stuck to her skin. The girls hug and attempt to renew their friendship. Sabine thanks Zena for her uncle’s help to save her family. Their tears mingle together symbolizing oneness.

The story ends with hope. Sabine comes to the realization: “The best way to avenge the injustice, she decided, would be to live well and happy. The tenacious gene of the dandelion in her would help her rise out of the African ashes and sow the seeds of a new Tree of Life.”

Analysis: In these last chapters the story reaches its climax and its end. Sabine finally corrects her father and notes that she is his brave ‘girl’ not ‘boy.’ This represents a coming-of-age moment when Sabine finally comes to terms with her own identity.

In the chapter ‘Searched to Skin’ the brutality of the soldiers is once more revealed. The soldiers put roadblocks all along the road to Entebbe airport and stop the cars filled with Indians. Sabine notes the paradox. The soldiers do want the Indians to leave yet they delay their departure. It is because they want harass the Indians and steal their possessions before they leave. Bapa justifies the soldiers’ action saying that the Africans have repressed years of anger under the colonial government and this is their last chance to punish the Indians. However, the explanation rings hollow. Then in a violent scene, the soldiers give ‘bottle treatment’ to Mr. Singh and chop off his hair. They also harass Mr. Singh’s old mother and threaten to cut her arm off because they cannot remove her wedding bangle that she has worn for fifty-five years.
In what way does this violate one’s basic, core, human dignity?
(Hint: Examine the symbolism of long hair and that of the wedding bangle in the Sikh culture).

Sabine meets Zena at the airport for the very last time. The description of the girls is a reversal from earlier scenes – Zena wears boots and a red leather skirt while Sabine is dressed down. Earlier Bapa has told Sabine that Captain Asafa helped their family so she no longer resents Zena as in the former chapters. The girls cry and claim to be friends. Some critics say the meeting between the girls is contrived.
Why did Nanji include this scene?
Does it add/detract from the novel?

As Sabine takes off she reflects life as a golden ladhoo - if you eat the sweet you will regret it, and if you don’t eat it you will also regret it.  The story ends with the image of a butterfly, which symbolizes resurrection and rebirth. The butterfly is a symbol of change and transformation; it hides in a cocoon then emerges as beautiful and powerful. The reward for leaving the safe cocoon is maturity and growth. At the end of the novel, Sabine has emerged as a butterfly. 

Central Themes and Symbols

Themes
Friendship:
Sabine and Zena’s friendship is central to the novel. Although the girls differ in terms of class, race, culture, they have a special bond. However, that bond is not infallible. As the tensions within Uganda escalate, it puts a strain on their friendship. When Zena accuses Sabine of being a “weed” and a “child of dandelions” their friendship is strained.
Fate and Fortune:
Sabine constantly reflects on whether her situation is a result of fate. The narrative structure of the 90-day countdown gives the impression that the countdown is inevitable. However, within each chapter Sabine exerts control and resilience, using her ingenuity to get out of difficult situations. This implies that she is not completely a victim of circumstance or fate. In the last chapter, Sabine resolves to build a new home and seems to win her battle against fate.
Loyalty:
Devotion and faithfulness in the story is not only to one’s family and friends but also to one’s country. Wartime brings out the best and worst traits – loyalty and betrayal. Katana’s loyalty contrasts with the betrayal of other servants of Indian families. At the end of the novel, Sabine learns that her assumption that Captain Asafa had betrayed her family is false and, that in fact, he protected her family from the wrath of the soldiers and helped them escape.
Sabine is also steadfastly loyal to her country and proud to be Ugandan. Like her father, she believes that since they are Uganda citizens the expulsion laws do not apply to them. The Indians pride in Uganda stems from the fact that their ancestors emigrated from India and built a home from nothing. While Sabine’s loyalty to Uganda never fades, the country’s circumstances force her to leave and build a new home in Canada.
Race, Class and Gender:

Sabine’s family and the other Indians experience discrimination as a result of their skin color and also because of their socio-economic class. The beggar lady, Amina Goli, aptly describes the class hierarchy in Uganda where the Indians have inherited the wealth and class stature of the British Imperialists. Although the British implemented the class system, the Indians perpetuated the inequities. This led to envy and jealously among Africans, who resented the rich, arrogant Indians. However, Nanji implies that greed made the Indians complicit in their own tragedy. In addition, their ostentatious homes, clothes and flashy cars made them open targets. The economic class distinction between Indians and Africans strained Sabine’s friendship with Zena and was the catalyst for their fallout. Idi Amin exploits this inequity to fuel hatred against the Indians. Naturally the Africans viewed him as a hero who will end poverty and make them wealthy.

Nanji examines the implications of systemic racism at three different levels – how it impacts the community as a whole, how it affects the family structure, and how it affects one’s personal relationships.

Issues of gender are important in the story. Traditionally in Indian communities the male son inherits the family wealth. However in this story Sabine is the heir because her younger brother Minaz has Downs Syndrome. Sabine’s father calls her his “brave boy.” Initially, Sabine tries to live up to these expectations and identifies courage and strength as male characteristics. She perceives her mother as weak and frail. However, Mama proves her wrong and redefines the typical male view of courage. In a moment of self-discovery, Sabine corrects her father and reminds him that she is his “brave girl.”

Coming of Age and Identity:
The Child of Dandelions is a coming-of-age story. It is about Sabine a young teenager’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Sabine undergoes inner turmoil in her growth and development of a human being as she comes to grips with the reality of the military regime, the cruelty and violence by the soldiers, the death of so many people including her favourite uncle, injustice, racism, and hatred among her friends, family and community. The novel ends with the positive assessment of herself. Sabine recognizes the tenacious dandelion gene within herself and that it will help her rise out of the African ashes and sow the seeds of a new Tree of Life in Canada.
Sabine is plagued by her identity. She constantly searches to define who is she and who she wants to be. The story unfolds during her early adolescence years, when she struggles with how to relate to her parents, her burgeoning sexuality and how to assert her independence. She tries to fulfill her father’s expectations and be the “brave boy” that her father has always wanted.
Sabine’s quest for her identity and the coming-of-age are significant themes that make the novel a “bildungsroman” like other great coming-of-age novels including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Diary of Anne Frank and To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Law and Order:
Laws are established to enforce order and justice in a society. However, Idi Amin’s expulsion laws lead to disorder, chaos and injustice. Nanji demystifies the aura of the “law” as concrete and stable and regards it as a man-made social construct. Law is malleable and can be manipulated and used as a tool for good as well as evil

Symbols
Dandelion:
The title, Child of Dandelions, carries great symbolic weight in this novel. It is mentioned three times in the novel and each time gains metaphysical weight. The image of a dandelion mirrors the Indians’ abilities to thrive under adverse conditions. Dandelions are known to grow amidst city concrete sidewalks and are persistent and defiant. They have strong roots and that makes it difficult to uproot them.
The word “dandelion” is said to originate from the French words “dent de lion” or lion’s teeth, which signifies tenacity and strength. Similarly, the Indians in Uganda are hard-working and sacrificed in Bapa’s words their “blood, sweat and tears” to build a home. The Indians controlled all the major sectors of Uganda’s economy. When the Indian population left, Uganda’s economy fell into shambles.
On the other hand, dandelions have a negative connotation as weeds horde water and nutrients and are known for stealing nutrients from other plants. This double-edged symbol perfectly embodies the manner in which Indians were perceived in Uganda.
Tree of Life:
This African Makonde sculpture shows different generations supporting one another. It symbolizes how the immigrant ancestors struggled to ensure a better life for future generations. Sabine’s Bapa came from India to work on the railway so that his children and grand-children like Sabine could enjoy the fruits of his labour. Similarly, as Sabine struggles to leave Uganda, she too will face problems as she settles in a new country but hopes that her children and grand-children will have a better future. The image of a tree signifies growth and progress.

"She and her family had been treating the Africans like the untouchables in India. Katana could not share their utensils, could not use their washroom. As if he'd pollute them. Every day he waited until they finished their meal; then he cleared the table, washed the dishes, and sat on the kitchen floor to eat the leftovers or cook the bubbling white ugali, a corn mush. Sabine's face felt hot with shame. It was not only Mr. Singh or Lalita who were prejudiced, but she and her family as well.”

“Sons were the pride of Indian families; a son inherited the family wealth and preserved the family name, unlike a daughter, who married and took on her husband’s family name. But after Munchkin was born with Down syndrome, Papa had vested all his hopes in her as the sole keeper of their family legacy.”

 “The Africans didn’t understand the Indians and the Indians didn’t understand Africans. Their communities had plunged her and Zena apart and destroyed their friendship.”

 “A wave of helplessness washed over her as she realized that the law of the gun would prevail. Fate had tied their hands and muffled their voices.”

Describe the characters of Lalita, Katana and the Bodyfinders. How do these characters bring comic relief to the novel’s otherwise tragic events? Compare the juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy in this novel with Shakespeare’s’ plays. (Hint: think about the Porter in Macbeth, the Grave-Diggers in Hamlet and the Fool in King Lear).

Who is the strongest character in the novel?

How does Mama redefine typical definitions of “strength” and “courage?”

Describe Zena and Sabine.
What techniques does the author use to compare and contrast their race and social status throughout the novel?

Analyze the title Child of Dandelions.
How does the image of the dandelion function throughout the book?

To what extent does the author suggest the British colonials responsible for the racial tension between the Indians and Africans? What textual evidence is there to support this?

 “Some people are born lucky,” Zena said wistfully, eyeing Sabine’s bikes. “I will have to make my luck.” Is this statement true? How does the author show that Sabine’s family’s wealth is not merely luck or fate but the fruits of hard work and persistence?
Explain the significance of the book's title. How does it relate to Sabine’s journey and the rest of the novel?

Review by Huai-Yang Lim Accessed: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol15/no8/childofdandelions.html .
CM Magazine by University of Manitoba
Review by Carolyne Van Der Meer. Accessed:
 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Child+of+Dandelions.-a0197599155
Review by Rozena Ma art, Herizons Magazine, Inc Spring 2009
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7554/is_200904/ai_n32324044/
Review by The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Volume 61, Number 8    
Review by Canada Council of Arts Accessed
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/releases/2008/ji128689896750577220.htm
Author’s Website. Accessed: <http://www.snanji.com/>
Author Interview with School Library Journal, April 2008: http://www.snanji.com/whats%20new%20interview.html
Idi Amin Information and Obituary, The Guardian, United Kingdom Newspaper:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/aug/18/guardianobituaries
http://www.yourlibrary.ws/ya_webpage/ritba/ritba10/childofdandelions.htm
Rosemarie Chapman Professionally Speaking (the magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers) June 2009 The Deakin Newsletter  May, 2009 Dr. Andrea Deakin 2009