My Neighbor Totoro: The Novel — Tsugiko Kubo

Written by Tsugiko Kubo • Illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki

Another way into the woods.

Step into the gentle, mysterious world of My Neighbor Totoro in this novel adaptation written by Tsugiko Kubo, with original illustrations by Hayao Miyazaki.

Sisters Satsuki and Mei move with their father to a new home in the countryside, where ordinary days soon begin to reveal something extraordinary. Strange little creatures slip through the grass. A great forest spirit waits among the trees. And before long, the sisters discover that their new home is surrounded by a world far more magical than they imagined.

When Mei goes missing, Satsuki turns to the remarkable friends they have made for help, bringing the sisters’ story of family, courage, wonder, and childhood imagination to its unforgettable conclusion.

With prose and illustrations offering a different way to experience the beloved story, My Neighbor Totoro: The Novel is an invitation to spend a little more time beneath those enormous trees.

Details

• Novel adaptation of My Neighbor Totoro
• Written by Tsugiko Kubo
• Original illustrations by Hayao Miyazaki
• Illustrated fiction / fantasy
• Family / friendship / nature / adventure

Why We Love It

Some worlds are simply hard to leave.

We love that this book lets readers return to Totoro’s countryside through words and illustrations, where there’s more room to linger over Satsuki and Mei’s days, the mysteries around their new home, and that particular childhood feeling that something extraordinary might be waiting just beyond the edge of the path.

It’s familiar, but not quite the same—and sometimes another way into a favorite story is exactly what you want.