Madogiwa no Totto-chan (1981)

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's 1981 Japanese memoir, shown here in Dorothy Britton's English translation, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, recalls her early schooldays at Tomoe Gakuen, an unusual school where a restless, curious girl was finally allowed to be herself. It is told as a series of short childhood recollections, which suits a learner reading a little each day. It is a natural choice for learners of Japanese, and translations into English, Thai and many other languages make it just as approachable elsewhere. Guinness World Records lists it as the autobiographical memoir by a single author with the most copies published, more than 25 million. Its portrait of a teacher who simply listens stays with adult readers.