A story of the rebuilding of lives as well as homes in bombed Tokyo, after the war was over, told through the tale of small Tomi and the Tamaki family. It is refreshing to have a modern Japanese setting, even though the picture of poverty and destruction is not a pretty one. The Tamakis, once a well-to-do family, meet the situation with very normal response — disillusionment, disappointment, but ultimately with momentary acceptance, until something better is available. And Tomi gave her gift of “a cheerful heart” even when her beloved bicycle was stolen — and at the end when the room she had longed for must be sacrificed. KIRKUS REVIEW