When I saw this classic by Eiko Kadono in the library, I just had to read it and see how it compared to the movie. My conclusion is that it’s delightful in its own way.

Inspired by a drawing by her 12 year old daughter, this is the book that inspired Kadono to make writing her life’s work, and to make it relatable, she kept things simple. Kiki is a twelve year old girl, a witch as passed down from her mother’s blood. But witches and their ways have been slowly disappearing and so Kiki only posseses one power-flight on her broom. That way, Kadono forces Kiki to use her head and her creativity to problem solve.

And that’s what she does on her coming of age year. She travels to an unfamiliar town at the river leading to the sea, Koriko. There, Kiki and her black cat, Jiji set up a delivery service next door to the bakery and get into several adventures. It’s really more like a series of vignettes from delivering a stuffed toy to a spoiled boy and having Jiji briefly act as a replacement to delivering secret admirer letters to giving a tugboat a belly warmer. My personal favorite was the spring concert where she delivered the forgotten instruments and made a concert of her own.

While there is not one big plot, and yes, it’s hard to not think of the movie (in the book Kiki doesn’t have the magic block and subsequent finding her joy again nor does Trombo nearly fall off a blimp or collide with the clock tower. The artist is unnamed in the book etc.), I do enjoy the hints to Kiki’s coming of age. Learning to deal with homesickness, curiosity about crushes and love, making new friends, and just standing on her own two feet. Or her own broom in this case.

Additionally, I enjoy how the relationship between Kiki and her mother is fleshed out here and more background of her childhood in the town. It’s very sweet.

If you’re a fan of big plots and momentuous coming of age insight, you will probably be bored by this book. But if you’re in the mood for a light slice-of-life book with a charming sweetness in the vein of the Ghibli movie, you’ll enjoy seeing its original source.