Studio Ghibli is so amazing so I just had to read the book that Kiki's Delivery Service was based on!! This was so absolutely cute and amazing! I definitely like the movie more but I think that might just be the nostalgia talking hehe. There are also a few things different in the book compared to the movie, so that might be part of it as well. If you're a Studio Ghibli fan I highly recommend this!!

I have spent nearly my entire life never knowing that the Miyazaki film I grew up loving had been inspired by a book. Of course, for much of my life, that book was not available in English and thus my ignorance on the matter isn't really surprising. In fact, initially, I thought that this book was based on the film rather than that it was the inspiration for it in the first place. But, much to my pleasure and amazement, I had the immense pleasure of reading <em>Kiki's Delivery Service </em>by Eiko Kadono thanks to a newly published English translation by Emily Balistrieri.

<b>It's not the movie. But then, it doesn't have to be.</b>

<em>Kiki's Delivery Service</em>, at it's core, has always been a story about a young witch coming of age and finding her place in the world. From book to film, that central premise does not change. With that said, there are some key differences between Kadono's story and the Miyazaki rendition many of us know and love. And you could break apart each difference if you wished, but they all ultimately boil down to one thing in the end: telling a single story vs. telling a story episodically.

Whereas with Miyazaki we get one complete story from start to finish, Kadono's Kiki experiences her coming of age in single moments that don't necessarily connect together in a neat and tidy way. There's a central conflict that fills the film every step of the way, but with the novel it's more like a bunch of different conflicts that don't exactly impact the other.

This isn't bad, perse, just different.

But, it's something to keep in mind when you're picking up this book. If you're doing so simply because you love the movie and you want to read the book version, you're probably not going to love <em>Kiki's Delivery Service.</em>

<b>I read Jiji in the voice from the film.</b>

I, very quickly, became a huge fan of Kadono's coming of age tale. Kiki is gloriously quirky in a way you almost don't see as much with the movie. Reading this novel was an experience that allowed me to better understand certain comments from the movie, too, that I'd never quite gotten before. And while I don't think comparing the two is really the important piece here, it's hard not to so.

I think, ultimately, this is definitely a book I would have considered great but not loved in any way had the movie not existed. The nostalgia aspect really is what sold me on it. Granted, I do feel that this novel is <em>perfect</em> for middlegrade readers. It's honestly excellent bedtime reading for your little ones since each chapter very much feels like a single episode of Kiki's life, making it quite easy to stop and not feel like you're being left on a cliff.

You meet many of the characters you know and love from the film, though I'll admit that there was not as much of Tombo as I would have liked. At the end of the day, this is a story about a 12-year-old witch coming of age and really learning about herself. She has her black cat, Jiji, there with her--whom I loved immensely--to help along the way. Kiki's figuring out the way her life will go and developing her priorities in life. She's growing up.

<b>Sending my niece a copy.</b>

It's pretty rare that I come across a middlegrade book and think, oh, I should send this to my niece. She's only six and therefore doesn't really <em>need</em> books like this since she's just learning to read and <em>definitely</em> couldn't tackle this one her own. But this is the kind of book that I think would work excellently as a bedtime story. And it's one that I hope she enjoys immensely because, after the book, I hope she'll watch the movie and fall in love just like I did.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

As a huge fan of the movie, I was so impressed at how true to the original book, the film stayed. This sweet story is about a 13-year-old half-witch named Kiki who leaves home. She finds a seaside town that she can help for a year. Kiki uses her wits and magic to endear herself to the town as a helpful delivery girl. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I volunteered to read this book through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. It is well written and the characters are described well. I really enjoyed the movie version of this book. The book is just as good as the movie. I absolutely love Kiki and jiji. I can not wait to read more books by this author in the future. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book is available in stores now for $16.99 (USD).

One of my favorite movies' original books?? OK PLEASE. It was like entering the world from a new perspective. I just absolutely adore this story and the characters. To read it is to completely immerse yourself in the world. Yes, yes, yes!

The book behind the classic Ghibli film! I feel like this would be a great book to read aloud to kids. The chapters build on the story, but each tell a story on their own as well! The art is gorgeous, even though it's unfinished. I can't wait to gift this to a kid!

*reviewed by uncorrected e-ARC, via netgalley

Children's middlegrade chapter book by Eiko Kadono (a story made famous in a Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli film which has also been published in manga format), translated into English by Emily Balistrieri.

Cute story about a young (13-y.o.) witch and a persnickety black cat making their way in a new village--they meet a kind baker woman, an inquisitive boy, and a bunch of interesting characters in their resulting adventures. Though the English translation occasionally seems a tiny bit stilted (I think a little may have been lost in translation), it isn't enough to deter the reader, young or old, and I can see Kiki gaining many new fans from the publication of this book.

#NetGalley
Excellent read for all ages. It has a wonderful story and unforgettable characters. I love me some Jiji. One of my all time favorite books.

It does not matter if your first adventure with Kiki's was the wonderful movie by Miyazaki or if you had never heard of this little girl in your life. This story takes you on an adventure that is different from what many children could imagine.

I had a great time reading this book. Each chapter told the next part of this story in a fun and exciting way. To see the story move along this way was a ton of fun. As the story moves along, we see Kiki change in many ways. Once this tale comes to a close, she will never be the same again. Fans of this story will want to check this book out.

I sadly couldn't read this copy of Kiki;s Deliver Service because of my bad internet. I do remember the Animation movie which was delightful to say the least.

Kiki’s Delivery Service, a 1985 children’s fantasy novel first published in Japanese as Majo no Takkyūbin (or “Witch’s Express Home Delivery”), is best known outside of Japan as the basis for a 1989 Studio Ghibli anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. In fact, the book won several prizes in Japan and Kadono has published five sequels over the years (unfortunately none of the sequels are currently available in English translations). Kiki’s Delivery Service was first published in English in 2003, but a new translation is now available.

Twelve-year-old Kiki lives in a small town with her mother Kokiri, a witch, and her human father Okino. Her coming-of-age day is nearing, and tradition requires young witches like Kiki to strike out on their own and find a town or village that doesn’t have a witch and needs their magical services. Witches’ powers have been growing weaker over the years, though, and Kiki’s only magical abilities are flying on a broom (at which she’s quite adept, in fact) and being able to speak with her black cat Jiji.

Once Kiki decides to leave she does so quickly, soon landing in the seaside town of Koriko. Initially downhearted because of the dismissive attitudes in this large town, Kiki cheers up when she meets a friendly and very pregnant baker who gives her a place to stay and an idea: she can go into business as a delivery girl. Her delivery service leads to a series of adventures, a few new friendships, and a growing feeling that Kiki has found a place and people that she cares about.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a warmhearted and whimsical children’s story, told in eleven fairly easy-to-read chapters. It differs from the Miyazaki film in many of its plot points, and it’s much more episodic and understated in its approach. Kiki deals with the typical difficulties of growing up and gradually gaining self-confidence and independence. Her adventures tend not to be dramatic, life-and-death difficulties. It’s the more mundane, ordinary issues that mostly concern her: a worried mother; a thief who swipes her broom; a group of musicians whose instruments were left on the train; a boy who may or may not like her. Jiji’s sarcastic comments add a little humor and spice to the underlying sweetness.

The magical elements in Kiki’s Delivery Service are low-key and pure white witchcraft — there’s no real evil or meanness at all in this book. People may be annoying but fundamentally they’re all goodhearted. It’s about ordinary people going about their lives, sometimes frustrating each other, but more often connecting with and helping one another. In a foreword to the novel, Kadono comments, “[Kiki] is a witch, but she’s also a perfectly ordinary girl. She has the same worries, disappointments, and joys as anyone else … And as I continued writing Kiki’s story, I realized that magic is something everyone possesses. Even if you can’t fly through the air like Kiki, you have your own unique power that is equally important.”

And as Kiki herself realizes:

"Of course, with my new business I’m usually delivering things in a hurry, so I need to fly. But sometimes it’s good to walk. When you walk, you end up talking to all sorts of different people even if you don’t want to, you know? … And when people see a witch close up, they realize that we don’t all have pointy noses and gaping mouths. We can discuss things and maybe come to understand each other."

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a charming tale with a timeless feel, giving readers an enjoyable and authentic glimpse of Japanese culture. I recommend it for fans of children’s fantasy.

This book was very magical. Once I got started it was hard to put down. I love the characters and plot of the story. Kiki is a young witch coming to age and has to set out on her own at the age of 13. She stops by the village Koriko which is by the sea with her cat Jiji. When she lives in the town she sets up a delivery service since she knows how to fly. I just loved everything about this book and now want to watch the movie.

This story is super cute and charming and funny. But I don't think I'd have liked it as much if I didn't already have such extreme fondness for the Ghibli movie it inspired. I did quite like learning the reason behind some of the things in the movie--like that Kiki doesn't do any magic other than flying, or that Jiji doesn't talk anymore by the end of the movie. The little illustrations that are interspersed through the book are really cute!

CHILDREN'S

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, translated by Emily Balistrieri; Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 208 pages ($16.99) Ages 10 ad up.

...

Fans of Hayao Miyazaki's charming 1989 animated film "Kiki's Delivery Service" may be surprised to learn it was adapted from a book by Japanese author Eiko Kadono. Now Random House Children's Books has released a new translation of the 1985 novel, and the story of a young witch who leaves her parents to choose a new town as a home for a year after turning 13 is every bit as charming as the film.

Kiki takes off on her broom with her sidekick, a talking black cat named Jiji, on a series of adventures starting with finding a home, in a room over a bakery, and developing her business as a delivery service (an idea she stumbles on after delivering a pacifier across town to calm a shrieking baby). Kiki is still a kid, but she's also growing up being on her own and learning to deal with challenges, and her adventures include a rescue at the beach, an emergency repair to the town clock and in one particularly surprising and wonderful scene, the dramatic delivery of musical instruments left on a train to a bunch of ill-tempered musicians. Readers will enjoy this high-spirited and original coming-of-age tale, and those who haven't yet met Kiki or seen Miyazaki's film are in for a treat.

Thank you PRH International for the digital galley! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.



I haven’t realized that one of the films that I adore so much was actually based on a children’s novel. Originally published in 1985 in Japan, the second translation was finally published with such an adorable cover! Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono is a wholesome, charming novel that gives a nostalgic feeling and Japanese culture.

The novel follows a young witch named Kiki. When her coming of age arrived, Kiki left her house to choose a new town to call home for a year as per the witch tradition. Being excited and ideal, Kiki flew on her broomstick full of joy and eagerness for new adventures. However, the town she chose hadn’t seen a witch for such a long time, so living in this town wasn’t as easy and fun as Kiki hoped and expected. Together with her black cat, Jiji, Kiki needed to prove herself to gain the trust of the townspeople while also building friendships along the way.

I read this book on one sitting, and the plot is a lot different from the film. This us such an easy read. Each chapter contained an episode where Kiki faced a not-so-overly-dramatic problem. In fact, most of those problems can happen in everyday’s life. Younger readers can relate to Kiki because she experienced the things that all of us have to go through while growing up. I like how she was portrayed just like an ordinary girl despite being a witch who can fly. Just like girls, she also got distracted by beautiful dresses, big malls, and wanting to have a great first impression when meeting new people. I also liked how she wasn’t pressured to follow the witch tradition. Although she valued the tradition, it was emphasized that it was her choice alone to pursue it. Moreover, it was enjoyable and refreshing that the magical element is just pure white witchcraft. The witches used their powers to help other people, not to cause harm nor gain advantages over them.

Overall, Kiki’s Delivery Service is a whimsical story about a young witch who discovers her self-confident and independent. I highly recommend this novel.

5/5 stars!

Such a wonderfully whimsical coming of age story.

Kiki is a young witch who is setting out on her own with her companion, and black cat named Jiji. As is the tradition for all witches' daughter at the age of 13, if they choose to follow in their mothers footsteps they must travel away from home to find a new town in need of a witch's assistance.

She comes upon the town of Koriko, that has not had a witch's presence in many years. At first the townspeople were very skeptical of her, not sure of her motives for coming to their town. So she sets up "Kiki's Delivery Service" where she uses her broom to deliver odds and ends between the townspeople, for the simple charge of whatever they can spare. As time passes, the town begins to warm up to her and they bestow her will all kinds of odd or silly jobs.

This is a very entertaining story that shows Kiki learning to gain confidence in herself, and those around her learning that there might even be a little bit a "magic" in them too.

I am a very big Studio Ghibli fan and have always thought this was a cute movie, while I don't think I really understood what was going on until now. The story reminds me of Pokemon, with the very young protagonist moving away from home and going on an adventure, which has always felt kinda odd. With this story, I feel like there was a good explanation of why she went off by herself, and the lessons that she learned while she was there. I will definitely have a different opinion of the movie the next time that I watch it.

I would recommend this story to families with elementary to middle school aged children, it would be a wonderful bedtime read.

I really enjoyed this read. I went into this AFTER watching the movie, which is rare for me. This was a super fun read to curl up with on a rainy Thursday afternoon. It was filled with magic and whimsy. I will definitely be picking up a copy for my nephew's library for when he gets older. I would recommend to people who enjoy middle grade.

Kiki's Delivery Service is the first book in the series by Eiko Kadono which inspired the classic animated movie from Studio Ghibli. Originally published in 1985, this English translation from Random House Children's was published 7th July 2020. It's 208 pages and available in hardcover and ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a heartwarming and well written book. It has a nostalgic vibe for me as well because, although I was older than the target audience at the time, I remember the Ghibli animated movie very fondly. It's really lovely to see it being brought out for a new generation of readers. The translation work is seamless; it reads very well and the scansion is well rendered and never feels choppy or confusing.

The art is appealing and enhances the story very well. I loved the chapter heading art and section illustrations. They're different from, but reminiscent of, the 1989 Miyazaki film.

Everything about this translation and reformat/re-release is high quality. I recommend it unreservedly. I hope a whole new generation of fans discover this gem. Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

**I was provided an electronic ARC post-release from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Kiki's Delivery Service is undeniably a classic that has had many renditions made in many different forms of media. That being said, this particular edition is my first time experiencing the story!

I definitely enjoyed the tales of Kiki coming-of-age, and feel that I likely would have enjoyed the story even more had my first experience with the tales been when I was in the target age group. As it is, I don't have the nostalgia to fall back on to enhance my personal enjoyment, and the stories came across a little too simplistic for my personal tastes now. I have chosen to rate this book based on my thoughts of how I might have felt reading it as a child, in an attempt to be completely fair to this work.

The stories of Kiki's adventures are fun, relatable, and accessible, and could absolutely help to introduce young readers to a love of reading and open discussions about lessons learned from each tale. Especially combined with the availability of the Studio Ghibli film, this book holds up well as a staple in a young reader's library.

I would absolutely recommend this version of Kiki's Delivery Service to elementary school to early middle school age groups, or to those of us who may be older and would like to revisit stories from our childhood.