[1] Small Change is a story of the struggles and yearnings of young children in Thiers, France, in the summer of 1976.

The main characters are Patrick Desmouceaux, who is motherless and just starts getting interested in women such as his young teacher, and his friend Julien Leclou, who lives in poverty and is physically abused at home.

Julien cannot stay awake at school after nights without sleep and constantly refuses to change for gym class in order to hide his bruises.

The film mixes the story of these characters with other more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges of a number of children.

Scenes include life at school, a toddler and a cat perilously playing on an open windowsill but falling down unhurt, a girl causing confusion with a bullhorn in an apartment window, Bruno showing his friends how to chat up girls, a double date at a movie theater, a child telling a dirty joke, a botched haircut, first love and first kisses.

[2] Small Change was popular at the box office, in France, the US, Germany, Scandinavia and Japan.

Vincent Canby, writing for the New York Times, called Small Change 'an original, a major work in minor keys'[8] and Pauline Kael described it as 'that rarity, a poetic comedy that's really funny'.

[citation needed] Roger Ebert named it his favorite of the year, calling it a 'magical film' and singled out the window-sill scene as 'Truffaut at his best'.