Tuesday, January 16, 2007
"Totto-Chan" on a Sleepless Night
I think one of the worst things in life is to have insomnia, even for a night. Spent the whole of last night tossing and turning, probably due to a whole host of things I did before bedtime: eating too much at Hong Kong cafe, drinking too much caffeine for the day, drinking a cup of ginseng water and getting irritated at my things being re-arranged without my permission. Feel so zombified now *yawn*
One of my efforts to usher in the sleeping fairy was to re-read one of my favorite books of all time: Kuroyanagi Tetsuko's "Totto-Chan: The Little Girl by the Window", which I bought many years ago for only $2 at Clarke Quay flea market. "Totto-Chan" is a recollection of Kuroyanagi's innocently mischievous childhood and most of it concentrates on her time in a school designed by the headmaster, Kobayashi Sosaku, who implemented childhood education system that was still rare in pre-WWII Japan. Kuroyanagi attributed her present to the Tomoe school, which recognized the uniqueness in every child and strove to let all the students in that tiny school made from discarded train carriages be what they were: children. Because of this theme, so beautifully told by Kuroyanagi, I feel that every teacher ought to read this book.
The book was translated from Japanese, but it manages to retain that feeling of beautiful simplicity that all of us remember as children, when everything was seen through the eyes of curiosity and wonderment. The readers also catch a glimpse of pre-war Japan, when television was not yet known, when "you could still find crayfish in the pond" and goldfish sellers shouted their wares:"Kin-gyo! Ee, kin-gyo!" Kuroyanagi also expressed her gratitude to the illustrator, who managed to capture children's expression and actions through simple but very effective drawings.
A delight for everyone from parents, educators to everyone who has ever been a child :)
One of my efforts to usher in the sleeping fairy was to re-read one of my favorite books of all time: Kuroyanagi Tetsuko's "Totto-Chan: The Little Girl by the Window", which I bought many years ago for only $2 at Clarke Quay flea market. "Totto-Chan" is a recollection of Kuroyanagi's innocently mischievous childhood and most of it concentrates on her time in a school designed by the headmaster, Kobayashi Sosaku, who implemented childhood education system that was still rare in pre-WWII Japan. Kuroyanagi attributed her present to the Tomoe school, which recognized the uniqueness in every child and strove to let all the students in that tiny school made from discarded train carriages be what they were: children. Because of this theme, so beautifully told by Kuroyanagi, I feel that every teacher ought to read this book.
The book was translated from Japanese, but it manages to retain that feeling of beautiful simplicity that all of us remember as children, when everything was seen through the eyes of curiosity and wonderment. The readers also catch a glimpse of pre-war Japan, when television was not yet known, when "you could still find crayfish in the pond" and goldfish sellers shouted their wares:"Kin-gyo! Ee, kin-gyo!" Kuroyanagi also expressed her gratitude to the illustrator, who managed to capture children's expression and actions through simple but very effective drawings.
A delight for everyone from parents, educators to everyone who has ever been a child :)
Labels: Review
// posted by Jenn @ 1:46 AM 
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