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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.
If you love childhood stories + unique education vibes, you HAVE to read this!
Jadi, Totto-chan ini cewek super aktif, curious banget, dan honestly… too much buat sekolah konvensional. Sampai akhirnya, dia di-DO karena gurunya ga sanggup ngadepin kelakuannya. Kasian sih, but at the same time, kinda funny.
Nah, mamanya pinter. Instead of forcing her to fit in, dia masukin Totto ke Tomoe, sekolah super unconventional yang ngajarin anak-anak dengan cara fun. Kelasnya? Di dalem gerbong kereta bekas! Sistemnya? Bebas! Mau belajar apa dulu? Terserah! Beneran dah, sounds like a dream school. Dan semua ini bisa terjadi karena Mr. Kobayashi, headmaster paling wholesome yang sayang banget sama murid-muridnya.
Totto-chan bener-bener happy di Tomoe, tapi ya… perang dunia ga kasih ampun. She lost her bestie, Yasuaki-chan, terus anjing kesayangannya, Rocky. Dan yang paling heartbreaking? Tomoe kebakar pas Jepang dibombardir. Mr. Kobayashi ga pernah bisa bangun sekolahnya lagi, dan tempat itu sekarang jadi mall. Tragic banget.
Dari awal aku kira ini novel biasa, ternyata ini kisah nyata! Totto-chan alias Tetsuko Kuroyanagi literally nulis kisah masa kecilnya sendiri. This book hits different karena bukan cuma tentang sekolah, tapi juga tentang freedom, kindness, dan cara anak-anak melihat dunia dengan polosnya.
Baca ini bikin aku ketawa, nangis, kangen masa sekolah (even though my school wasn’t as cool as Tomoe). A must read banget 😸👍🏻
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5/5
Omg I loved this book so much! It was soooo cute and sweet I enjoyed reading every short story of her childhood that Kuroyanagi included.
I can't believe I only came across this book today on GR and realized I forgot to add it xD
* Plot * : Totto-chan is a mischievous little girl who is overactive and loves to explore the world around her. However, her out-of-the-blue questions resulted in her being labeled as a troublemaker. Having to transfer school multiple times, her mother found an unusual school for her: a place where children play and learn through games. The school was run by a headmaster named Mr. Kobayashi, who believes that respect and freedom encourages a child to grow better than boring lessons and punishments.
Totto-chan had many memories there and learned many things about life at a young age. Through this book, Kuroyanagi told her own story and how she learned so much from Mr. Kobayashi. According to her, Mr. Kobayashi understood children and their needs so much more than other adults. Totto-chan's story gives you a glimpse into a 1st-grader's world and the way they see everyone.
This book might be deeper than you think, and I experienced many emotions with this book. Yes, there are some sad parts :
Omg I loved this book so much! It was soooo cute and sweet I enjoyed reading every short story of her childhood that Kuroyanagi included.
I can't believe I only came across this book today on GR and realized I forgot to add it xD
* Plot * : Totto-chan is a mischievous little girl who is overactive and loves to explore the world around her. However, her out-of-the-blue questions resulted in her being labeled as a troublemaker. Having to transfer school multiple times, her mother found an unusual school for her: a place where children play and learn through games. The school was run by a headmaster named Mr. Kobayashi, who believes that respect and freedom encourages a child to grow better than boring lessons and punishments.
Totto-chan had many memories there and learned many things about life at a young age. Through this book, Kuroyanagi told her own story and how she learned so much from Mr. Kobayashi. According to her, Mr. Kobayashi understood children and their needs so much more than other adults. Totto-chan's story gives you a glimpse into a 1st-grader's world and the way they see everyone.
This book might be deeper than you think, and I experienced many emotions with this book. Yes, there are some sad parts :
Spoiler
Just like childhood, Totto-chan's journey in this special school comes to an end when the school was sadly burnt down, along with the dreams of Mr. Kobayashi to continue creating a wonderful environment for children. In the book Totto-chan also experienced the deaths of her friend and her dog, which were really sad.
Dia yakin, setiap anak dilahirkan dengan watak baik, yang dengan mudah bisa rusak karena lingkungan mereka atau karena pengaruh-pengaruh buruk orang dewasa.
Here it is, one of my comfort reads
It makes you want to go to a school such as tomo gauken and wish koboyashi was your teacher.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
There is no way I am ging to able to write a conventional "review" of this book. It is a book that read before I knew what it meant for the books to be close to your heart. But, subconsciously, I have always felt as if, I was ordered to read that book that night by a supreme force. I read this, staying up late before a very important exam (good thing, my mom does not use Goodreads :D ) and could not put it down. I got emotional, I got happy for the protagonist, felt sad and shared her sadness on the occasions she had to suffer brief and prolonged separation of her parents. I have seen the way she perceives the world, the way she realizes that she is different from everyone around. How these differences make her parents worried and sad.
My mom made me read this. A little too sweet for my taste, but it had inspring moments.
This was in my TBR pile for awhile now and glad I was able to finish this in one sitting. An autobiological memoir told from an ADHD girl pov on this very special Japanese elementary school that existed during WW2 which had philosophies of a nature school & a Reggio Emilia approach; the epitome of student led & active learning well ahead of times. It warms my educator heart to see how educators who care above and beyond make a whole lot of difference.