Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window

I had wanted to read this for years. Last night I finished the book and I think it was cute and very moving. [I started to read Totto-Chan's Children: A Goodwill Journey to the Children of the World, and in the prologue there was a story about a bomb hidden in a child's doll, which made me cry.]

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is a famous talk show host in Japan. In this book, she wrote about her days in Tomoe school, Tokyo, in early 1940's. After expelled from a public school because of her naughtiness, Tetsuko - nicknamed Totto-chan, was brought by her mother to Tomoe, where Totto-chan was received by the kind headmaster. With his unconventional way to teach, the headmaster taught Totto-chan that she was a good girl. The headmaster loved children, so he was able to understand them. He loved the pupils and they loved him. Sadly the school was bombed in 1945.

I think this book should be read by children and those who care about children and their education. If school is not merely a place where children are fed with lessons, but a place where they can learn about life, perhaps this world would be a better place.