Truly lovely. These stories are so rich and the children are so tender...gentle, polite, brave, brash, foolish, silly, and hopeful, all at once. At times a bitter warning to adults that their choices have far-reaching implications, at times a reminder that to be young is to be filled with a capacity for anything and everything, irrespective of environment. My favorites are Mr. Adachi, Sei, and Haruo. Of course the children are the stars but the adults at the home are truly commendable. Mr. Adachi is not cool or suave. He does not play a character; he isn't paternalistic or apathetic. He treats each child as ahuman being and weathers each outburst with patience. Someone to aspire to emulate.