This children's novel follows Saburo, a boy sent away after his mother's death, as encouragement from his teacher Hirota helps him resolve to live with the resilience of wild grass. It portrays a formative bond between teacher and pupil and a boy awakening to literature.

A story of a boy finding his own way of living through hardship and the support of a teacher.

A memoir by former editor Seika Shibusawa about the Taishō-era children's magazines Nihon Shōnen and Shōjo no Tomo, recalling their editorial work and publishing context.

Shibusawa traces the magazines' pages and their cultural setting through memories of editing them in the Taishō era.