Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window - Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - ★★★★.¼

-
AUTHOR: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
ILLUSTRATOR: Chihiro Iwasaki
TRANSLATOR: Dorothy Britton
GENRE: Memoir, Children's Nonfiction.
PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 1981
RATING: 4.25 stars.


When I am in the mood for a light read (especially as a palate reliever after an intense one), I tend to choose either romcoms or children's books. These aren't taxing on the brain and can be completed quickly. I expected my latest pick in this department to be exactly as such: complete quickly and forget quickly. What I never expected was this beautiful heart-touching tale!

Totto-chan is an old & supposedly popular children's book. However, to my utter embarrassment, I hadn't even heard of it till last year when someone had posted about it on Facebook. Now I regret not having read it earlier.

Totto-chan is an interesting compilation of a little girl's adventures and experiences during pre-war and wartime Japan. The short chapters cover in detail Totto-chan's years at the radical Tomoe Gakuen school in grades 1 & 2 and her personal life at the same time. (BTW, this book would make a great bedtime read-aloud companion for children: short chapters with lots of possible topics for discussion.)

Totto-chan shows how an acceptance of a little child's natural naughtiness can go on to create a positive change in the child. It also demonstrates the importance of having the right teachers and the right attitude towards children. Most importantly, it teaches the importance of listening attentively and of not labelling your children.

Some of the situations in the book made me instinctively feel that people would never behave like that in real life. So I was quite stunned to read in the epilogue that these were actual events that occurred in the author's childhood: that she was Totto-chan!

Though it is a children's story, I feel parents and teachers also have much to learn from this book. If all schools were like Tomoe Gakuen and all teachers like Mr. Kobayashi, the world would have much better and well-rounded citizens in its future. A must-read book, I say!

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

The Language of Love and Other Stories - Nancy Christie - ★★★★

-
Image
  AUTHOR:  Nancy Christie GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: February 4, 2025 RATING: 3.9 stars. In a Nutshell: A delightful short story collection focussing on all aspects of love. Yes, “love”, not “romance”! Interesting plots, multiple emotions, steady paced, beautiful endings ranging from sweet to bittersweet. Not corny or mushy as you might assume. Much recommended! I had misjudged this short story collection on initial glance, dismissing it as being cheesy romance tales. ( Very hasty and judgemental of me, I admit. No offence intended to readers of the genre. It is just that I no longer enjoy such stories .) As the cover gave me romance vibes, I almost decided that this is not for me. But then, the title made me pause, bringing to my mind the fabulous "The Five Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell – probably the only self-help/inspirational book I've read that I found authentic and practical. I wondered if the "language...
Read More»

A Council of Dolls - Mona Susan Power - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
  AUTHOR:  Mona Susan Power GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: November 5, 2024 RATING:  4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A powerful multi-timeline narrative detailing the horrors faced by the indigenous citizens of the USA. Character-driven, introspective, brutal, slow-paced. Great use of the titular “dolls”. A book to be savoured than to be zoomed through. Recommended! Plot Preview: Sissy ~ a second-grader in 1960s Chicago. Has a volatile mother and a doting father. Loves her Christmas present: a Black Thumbelina doll named Ethel, who always supports Sissy and offers advice during tough times. Lillian ~ a child of the 1930s. Born at a time of turmoil and conflict. Her sister Blanche and her Shirley-Temple-lookalike doll named Mae are her biggest sources of support. When the sisters are forced to go to an “Indian school” run by nuns, Mae turns out to be Lillian’s guiding light during the dark days.  Cora ~  born in the 1900s during the “Indian Wars”. Fa...
Read More»

Tales of Virtuous Stepmothers - Georgina Warren - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Georgina Warren GENRE: Fairy Tale Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 12, 2023 RATING: 3.9 stars. In a Nutshell: A children’s fairy tale collection with each story having a virtuous stepmother in a major or minor role. Love the intent, and enjoyed most of the stories. A great option for little ones, especially those who have stepmothers, so that they can finally see some positive representation of this vilified category of parents. This short story collection contains twelve fairy tales. Each of the stories is varied in its content. Some have intriguing magical creatures such as ogres and dragons while some others have animals and birds in the main roles. Those with human narrators have either commoners or kings at the helm. Some recite stories of ordinary living while others contain tales of royal adventures. But no matter what, every story has one factor in common: a good stepmother. The preface contains a heartfelt note by the author about how the wicked stepmother trope fro...
Read More»

The Many Futures of Maddy Hart - Laura Pearson - ★★★.¾

-
Image
  AUTHOR:  Laura Pearson GENRE: Fantasy-Romance PUBLICATION DATE: February 4, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars.  In a Nutshell: A contemporary fantasy-romance. Okay lead character, great supporting characters, unique plot, fast tempo, abrupt ending. Good for those who like thought-provoking books. Plot Preview:  Whenever Maddy has *intimate relations*, her mind takes her ten years in the future, not as a watcher but as living in her own future self. Though this lasts only for a few moments, it is enough to show Maddy a glimpse of what future lies ahead for her with her current partner-in-bed. Needless to say, these future visions ensure that she doesn’t sleep around. But when, at age twenty-seven, she meets Oliver, who could be the love of her life, and she sees their future together, she knows for certain that she wants that future. No matter the cost.  The story comes to us in Maddy’s first-person perspective.  PSA: The GR blurb reveals too much.  This i...
Read More»

Making Up the Gods - Marion Agnew - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Marion Agnew GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 15, 2023 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: An indie drama with some quirky characters and a great setting in Lake Superior, Canada. Mellow in tone, genuine in content, thought-provoking in themes. I enjoyed this unusual novel. Plot Preview: Simone, almost 70, is a retired widow who lives an isolated life in her cottage on the banks of Lake Superior and still misses her husband, though he’s been dead for five years. While she is now active in her local church and finds solace in baking for those grieving, she is fiercely protective of her privacy. But when the local reverend asks her to take care of nine-year-old Chen while his widowed mother goes on a much-needed trip, Simone finds it tough to refuse a fellow-mourning widow. Just before Chen arrives, a stranger named Martin knocks at Simone’s door, claiming to be her cousin. Simone is suddenly handling two strangers at once, and she worries that they will dis...
Read More»