Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window is a children's book written by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

is an internationally famous Japanese actress, a talk show host, a best-selling author of children book, a World Wide Fund for Nature advisor, and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She is well-known for her charitable works, and is considered as one of the first Japanese celebrities who achieved...

. The book was published originally as in 1981, and became an instant bestseller in Japan. The book is about the values of the unconventional education that Kuroyanagi received at Tomoe Gakuen, a Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 founded by educator Sosaku Kobayashi during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and it is considered her childhood memoir.

The Japanese name of the book is an expression used to describe people who have failed.
The book begins with Totto-chan's mother coming to know of her daughter's expulsion from public school.