![]() ![]() These failures include an unfortunate fall into a latrine, being cheated by a roadside peddler, and realizing she doesn’t have what it takes to be a spy when she grows up. But this bliss crumbles away as Totto-Chan, or “Little Bean,” slowly and painfully learns the facts of life with each new experience and failure. Indeed, the novel succeeds in bringing us back to a place where ignorance is bliss. In awe of the world, while ignorant of the changes happening both within and around her, Totto-Chan takes the reader by the hand, leading the wizened adult back to childhood - a time when the world was fresh and exciting. Under the guidance of Principal Kobayashi Sosaku, who practices a non-traditional approach to education, the young Totto-Chan evolves from a problem student in the Japanese education system, to a self-confident class leader at her new school for ‘special’ students. The plot follows the childhood adventures of the author as Totto-Chan and her escapades at the Bus Study Garden, against the backdrop of war. ![]() ![]() Published in 1981, the novel begins in late-1930s Japan during the lead-up to the Second World War. Looking out the window with Totto-Chan Book Review by Jordon Shinn, for China Daily, August 2016, Beijing.Ī charming and masterful study of the child’s psyche, Totto-Chan, the Little Girl at the Window, is the seminal work by celebrated Japanese author and television personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. ![]()
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