Totto-Chan, the first memoir I ever read

Author: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Genres: Nonfiction, childrens, memoir

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I first read this as a child, thinking that this was a fictional children story. I want to say that I've read this book so many times that I lost count, but this re-read was the first time I realized that this book was non-fiction???? I don't even know how I missed this when there was a chapter saying that Totto-Chan's real name was Tetsuko AND the postscript was her talking about this book..... and her story....

Furthermore, apart from being the first non-fiction that I have read, this was also the first translated book I have read. The translation is SO good!!! Totto-Chan will always be the standard which I hold future non-fiction books and translated books :')

Having since read more translated books, I really have to commend the translation for Totto-Chan. It did not read as translated, and the writing was really beautiful. Sosaku Kobayashi is a truly inspiring educator and taught the children important messages that was not common in Japan at the time, which impressed me so much more. It is a little difficult to believe that such a beautiful school with its unconventional teaching methods existed so long ago but only makes me more envious of Totto-Chan, who got to experience Tomoe Gakuen at its peak.