Kiki's Delivery Service (novel) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Majo no Takkyūbin
Kiki's Delivery Service

Japanese book cover
Author	Eiko Kadono
Original title	魔女の宅急便 Majo no Takkyūbin
Translator	Lynne E. Riggs
Illustrator	Akiko Hayashi
Cover artist	Akiko Hayashi
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Series	Majo no Takkyūbin
Genre	Children's, Fantasy novel
Publisher	Fukuinkan Shoten
Publication date	January 25, 1985
Published in English	February 1, 2003
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	259 pp
ISBN	4-8340-0119-9
OCLC	166865908
LC Class	MLCSJ 86/174 (P)
Followed by	Majo no Takkyūbin 2: Kiki to Atarashii Mahou (Kiki's Delivery Service 2: Kiki and Her New Magic)

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便, Majo no Takkyūbin, lit. Witch's Express Home Delivery) is a children's fantasy novel written by Eiko Kadono and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. It was first published by Fukuinkan Shoten on January 25, 1985. It is the basis of the 1989 Studio Ghibli anime film of the same title and of the 2014 live action film also of the same name.

The book won numerous awards in Japan. Encouraged by this and by the success of the film, Kadono has written five more novels, over a period of several years, and created a book series. The most recent was published in May 2017.

Synopsis

The book follows Kiki, a young witch. Her mother is also a witch, but her father is not. Kiki is now thirteen and must spend a year on her own in a town without other witches. She must use her magic abilities to earn her living. She is accompanied by her cat Jiji.

Translations

Non-Japanese versions of Majo no Takkyūbin were not published until 2003 when the book became available in English, Italian, Korean and Chinese. The Swedish and Indonesian editions were published in 2006. The French version was released in 2019.

Differences in title

Not all translations of the book follow the original title. Some include the name of the central character.

• Kiki's Delivery Service (English edition), named for the English dub of the Studio Ghibli film Annick Press
• Kiki, consegne a domicilio (Italian edition), Publisher's website
• 魔女宅急便 (Chinese edition), Publisher's website
• Kikis Expressbud (Swedish edition), translates as Kiki's Fast Delivery Publisher's website
• Titipan Kilat Penyihir (Indonesian Edition) Publisher's website
• Kiki la petite sorcière (French Edition)

English edition

This edition is translated by Lynne E. Riggs and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. The cover is by Irvin Cheung. The book is 176 pages and, like the original Japanese edition, has eleven chapters. A new English translation by Emily Balistrieri and illustrated by Yuta Onoda was released in hardcover in the United States by Delacorte Press on July 7, 2020.

Related media

Film adaptations

The book was adapted in 1989 as an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Disney was also interested in its own live-action take on Kiki in 2005 with Jeff Stockwell writing the script and Susan Montford, Don Murphy, and Mark Gordon as producers, but no developments have emerged since then.

A live-action film adaptation of the same novel and with the same name starring Fuka Koshiba was released on March 1, 2014. The film is based on the first 2 novels and have figure skater turned actress Fuka Koshiba playing Kiki premiered in Japan on March 1, 2014.

Novel sequels

Awards and nominations

• 23rd Noma Award for Juvenile Literature
• 34th Shogakukan Award for Children's Literature
• Hans Christian Andersen Award 2018
• Holds a place on the IBBY Honour List for 1986