Mini Review: Totto-Chan

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window

By Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Translated by Dorothy Britton

Illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki

Publisher: Kodansha Europe

This is my first Japanese children's book, recommended to me by my bookseller friend, Kit, when she found out that I was trying to read more Japanese fiction.

However, it's actually not a work of fiction, but based on the childhood of its author (a popular Japanese actress, author and talk-show host, philanthropist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and WWF-Japan director), focusing specifically on her experiences as a student at Tomoe Gaukuen, an experimental school in Tokyo, Japan.

The school was founded by one Sosaku Kobayashi who obviously loved children and had unique ideas about how they should be raised and enducated.

Reading about the school, I was filled with envy and longing. Tomoe no longer exists, but educators can learn much from its example.

The book describes Totto-Chan's adventures as a curious, imaginative little girl. She is deemed "impossible" by the teachers in her first school and is expelled, but Kobayashi welcomes her with open arms, and, for Totto, Tomoe is a dream come true, a place where she is allowed to achieve her fullest potential and given the freedom to explore her suroundings and express herself to her heart's content.

If only schools like that existed today. I'd enrol my kids in a flash.

Totto-Chan is broken up into very short chapters, each one relating a short incident or commenting on an interesting aspect of the school or Totto's life and upbringing. It's an easy read - simple, unaffected and charming - and also rather funny.

Totto and her classmates are cute, but the hero of the book is, without a doubt, Kobayashi who was ever optimistic and always ready to see the good in every child.

For more info on Kuroyanagi, read Wikipedia's entry.

Comments

[genericpropecia]

i like this part of the post:"The school was founded by one Sosaku Kobayashi who obviously loved children and had unique ideas about how they should be raised and enducated." is very good

[Rajesh]

i so much like of titto chan stiry!Rajesh INdia Mangalore

[hiteshsolanki from india(ahmedabad)]

toto chan is really lucky girl, i hope all the students get soch tamoe school and get teacher like koboyasi,book provide childhod memory,, all the chappter are really give me inspiration and love child by right way,, i hope u like too such like.

[Ann]

I have seen the illustration on the book cover for all these years. and perhaps i might have read the book before (in my language, THAI)
yesterday I was at a bookshop again and found it in English. I bought it and hope to brush up my english again while reading...and the story is soooo cute. (I am now living in Japan, I can picture how it's like in the writing)

besides, I love the illustrator Chihiro Iwasaki, I have good a collection book of her work...

thanks I have found your blog..it is really informative and GOOD too ;)

[NANJI JANJANI]

I am NANJI JANJANI, Teacher from BHUJ kutchh, INDIA. I read totto chan and inspiered of Mr. Sossku Kobayashi and Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. I like to work with children as Mr. Sosaku Kobayashi and like to act every child that he want to do. I am fan of TOTTO VHAN. I am proud of that Tetsuko Kuroyanagi as a writer, as a educator,as a tv actress and as a NHK member. I am olso Radio Listrner Hindi Programme of NHK. In future when I will come to JAPAN I want to meet with Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.

[daphne]

Hi Vishal
Where are you? You can probably get the English version of the book from Amazon. I'm afraid I don't have the author's email address.

[Vishal]

Hello
I'm a fan of Totto-Chan
I've read that book in my local language
I want it in english
can you help me?
I also want the e-mail id of Madam Tetsuko
Can you help me?

[fuckdamned_princess]

this book amazing. i just can say i love this book.

[rickypointing]

this is very nice

[jujuqtpie]

Hi, would like to say that like you, I read this book with envy too, except that I wished that I had the same kind of understanding, wisdom and patience that Kobayashi had. I would like to also say that Totto had a good mom, who knew and understood Totto. And most certainly, if there are schools like this here, I'm moving there and enrolling my kids there.

[Ann (from Girlsown)]

Just to say I LOVE this book, which was given to me by a Japanese friend! It's nice to see that someone else knows and likes it!

[Anabelle Koong]

Totto-Chan is a great book for children to know more on how to learn in a way such that it is not through memorising but to try out our own. Camping in school may not happen often nowadays but I would recommend this as this will allow the chilren to become more independant, more adaptable and have more fun.