A Must Read: Totto Chan

delightful and charming. it's a very simple story (a highly recommended weekend read), written from the eyes of a little girl, Totto Chan, who's unique in her own ways.

when Totto Chan was expelled from her first school due to her unacceptable behaviour, she joins a new school called Tomoe Gakuen, founded by the headmaster Sosaku Kobayashi. this school, unlike others, allows the children to study anything they want, which means, you'll find at any time, children studying a different subject in a same class. and guess where the classes are? in a train :) this of course, would amaze any children, especially children like Totto Chan.

For lunch, the headmaster asks the children to take "something from the mountain and something from the sea". and for the winners of their Sports Day, they bring home cabbages or basket of potatoes instead of trophies as prizes, much to the children's disappointment. WHY VEGETABLES AS PRIZES? (*wink*) and it teaches many other unique subjects, like eurythmics for example. it teaches things like rhythm and tempo through movements and activities. the headmaster believes that the body and mind should be "equally developed and in perfect harmony". btw,...the author didn't invent any of the episodes.

whether or not you like to read, this book will amuse you for sure. and you must must read the postscript and epilogue. you'll appreciate the story even more.

this book is also available online FOC! just found out when I was googling it lol (sorry Skye..really didn't know about it till of late...)