Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: War
Totto-chan is really an inspiring short story collection. Children's education is a prominent theme in this book. Kuroyanagi used a very innocent tone and her own experience to highlight education in hard times (during WW2). I recommend this book to all educators and students, because the principal, Mr Kobayashi really cooperates western and eastern education very well. 4.5 star!
22/10/2017
This is a very aspiring book and should be included in inquired reading for children, educators and parents. It's not just about children but also the adults that created such a lovely, inspiring and free space for children to do what they should do at their age. This is my third time re-reading it actually and I still find it helpful. Kobayashi-san, the headmaster, uses a very innovative teaching method to engage with students and the surroundings, not just with human beings, but also nature, which fascinates me to no ends. These funny, heart-warming little stories reminded me a lot of the times when I was in kindergarten. I remember I learnt ahead of my peers at that time because we were exposed to Science and some other things that are useful in the future. 5 stars!
22/4/2019
This is still one of my favourites nonfiction of all time. Even though Totto-chan's school life is being told in short stories, it is no doubt a reference on education style. I would love to implement some of the methods that Kobayashi-san when teaching the kids in the centre, but I find it hard sometimes with the different mindset and background of the kids. Parents nowadays are quite polarizing, so teachers face all kinds of tough challenges and in the end, I feel bad not just for the teachers but also for the kids. I hope more parents and educators could pick this book up. 5 stars!
15/4/2021
Still finding it inspiring.
22/10/2017
This is a very aspiring book and should be included in inquired reading for children, educators and parents. It's not just about children but also the adults that created such a lovely, inspiring and free space for children to do what they should do at their age. This is my third time re-reading it actually and I still find it helpful. Kobayashi-san, the headmaster, uses a very innovative teaching method to engage with students and the surroundings, not just with human beings, but also nature, which fascinates me to no ends. These funny, heart-warming little stories reminded me a lot of the times when I was in kindergarten. I remember I learnt ahead of my peers at that time because we were exposed to Science and some other things that are useful in the future. 5 stars!
22/4/2019
This is still one of my favourites nonfiction of all time. Even though Totto-chan's school life is being told in short stories, it is no doubt a reference on education style. I would love to implement some of the methods that Kobayashi-san when teaching the kids in the centre, but I find it hard sometimes with the different mindset and background of the kids. Parents nowadays are quite polarizing, so teachers face all kinds of tough challenges and in the end, I feel bad not just for the teachers but also for the kids. I hope more parents and educators could pick this book up. 5 stars!
15/4/2021
Still finding it inspiring.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Omg my whole childhood is back and i fucking miss it so much
I adore this book. I first came across it when I was about 10 years old, living in Japan in the 1980s. So many of her descriptions of her childhood were exactly what I saw around me: benjo ditches, temples, kids in school uniforms... Totto's challenges dealing with authority were hilarious for a kid from any time and any culture. I loved reading them.
This is not a simple book, however, as I recognized when I read the book a second time as an adult. It is bittersweet. Not only is it entertaining on a surface level, but there is a touch of nostalgia and and sense of loss as Tetsuko travels back to a time and place made possible by a great man (the headmaster of her school) who occupies a distinct place in time. Not only that, but the cultural changes wrought by war and recovery also make Totto's world seem fleeting and precious. This temporality is true of any childhood is, but particularly one lived in Japan in the 1930s and '40s.
Tetsuko's prose is gorgeous. It reads almost like haiku. Simple, straightforward, but carrying associations and emotions that go far beyond the written word. The illustrations are also sweet and lovely.
This is not a simple book, however, as I recognized when I read the book a second time as an adult. It is bittersweet. Not only is it entertaining on a surface level, but there is a touch of nostalgia and and sense of loss as Tetsuko travels back to a time and place made possible by a great man (the headmaster of her school) who occupies a distinct place in time. Not only that, but the cultural changes wrought by war and recovery also make Totto's world seem fleeting and precious. This temporality is true of any childhood is, but particularly one lived in Japan in the 1930s and '40s.
Tetsuko's prose is gorgeous. It reads almost like haiku. Simple, straightforward, but carrying associations and emotions that go far beyond the written word. The illustrations are also sweet and lovely.
A heartwarming story with such cute quirks. ”Totto-chan” reminds me of my childhood, quite a bit. Reading such innocence through an eye of a child gave me nostalgia I think everyone would want to feel too. Mr. Kobayshi’s different approach on learning made it interesting to read, as schools in real life do what he did. Headmaster Kobayshi simply wanted the children to have fun during their elementary school, and they received that. Kuroyanagi did a great, sweet retelling of her elementary school days.
لم تثر القصة أي اهتمام لدي الا في الثمانون صفحة الاخيرة.
ولا أجد سبباً لعدم اعجابي بهذه القصة على الرغم من أن القصة تحتوي كل العناصر التي احبها. قصص الاطفال، ذكريات الطفولة والقراءة عن قصة تدور احداثها في بلد لم أقرأ لأدبه الكثير. كل ذلك كانت عناصر جديرة تماما بأن تجعل هذا الكتاب من كتبي المفضلة. ولكني وجدت نفسي مرغمة على انهاءها بدون اي متعة في القراءة.
ولا أجد سبباً لعدم اعجابي بهذه القصة على الرغم من أن القصة تحتوي كل العناصر التي احبها. قصص الاطفال، ذكريات الطفولة والقراءة عن قصة تدور احداثها في بلد لم أقرأ لأدبه الكثير. كل ذلك كانت عناصر جديرة تماما بأن تجعل هذا الكتاب من كتبي المفضلة. ولكني وجدت نفسي مرغمة على انهاءها بدون اي متعة في القراءة.
لم تثر القصة أي اهتمام لدي الا في الثمانون صفحة الاخيرة.
ولا أجد سبباً لعدم اعجابي بهذه القصة على الرغم من أن القصة تحتوي كل العناصر التي احبها. قصص الاطفال، ذكريات الطفولة والقراءة عن قصة تدور احداثها في بلد لم أقرأ لأدبه الكثير. كل ذلك كانت عناصر جديرة تماما بأن تجعل هذا الكتاب من كتبي المفضلة. ولكني وجدت نفسي مرغمة على انهاءها بدون اي متعة في القراءة.
ولا أجد سبباً لعدم اعجابي بهذه القصة على الرغم من أن القصة تحتوي كل العناصر التي احبها. قصص الاطفال، ذكريات الطفولة والقراءة عن قصة تدور احداثها في بلد لم أقرأ لأدبه الكثير. كل ذلك كانت عناصر جديرة تماما بأن تجعل هذا الكتاب من كتبي المفضلة. ولكني وجدت نفسي مرغمة على انهاءها بدون اي متعة في القراءة.