From Creek & River:
"Selfish, mean and manipulative". These are some of the words that people use about Tsuneko. But Tsuneko herself has no doubt that she is the most popular person in her elementary school class. Her best friends are Kiriko, the calm one, Hanako, the little madam, Nono, the cutie, Shee, the firm one, and Tsunta, the punk. These stories of their day-to-day lives are full of delightful observations about being a child and growing up in Japan.