A shy Japanese boy has difficulty adjusting to school and is misjudged by his classmates. Chibi has been an outcast since that frightening first day of school when he hid under the schoolhouse. Afraid of the teacher and unable to make any friends, Chibi passes his free time alone—alone at study time, alone at playtime, always a "forlorn little tag-along." But when Mr. Isobe arrives, the new teacher sees things in Chibi that no one else has ever noticed.  This is a story about the power of kindness and patience, and being willing to see with our hearts and not just our eyes. This book won the Caldecott Honor in 1956.