The Good Little Book

by Kyo Maclear

While banished to a dusty study one day “to think things over”, a boy pulls a book off a shelf and with great reluctance begins to read. As the afternoon passes, the story nabs him and carries him away. Before long, this good little book becomes his loyal companion, accompanying him everywhere ... until, one day, the book is lost. Will this bad little boy get back his good little book? Will the good little book survive on its own without a proper jacket? A quirky, enchanting tale of literary love and loss–and love found again–that will win the heart of even the most reluctant reader.

Kyo Maclear Author Biography

Kyo Maclear is a critically acclaimed author whose books have been
published in multiple languages around the world.

Kyo resides in Toronto, Canada, where she shares a home with two children, a cat, a musician and a lot of books. In addition to writing, she likes to listen to music, watch old movies, do yoga, make art and play around in her bright, open kitchen. As well as writing for children, Kyo is a novelist and a visual-arts writer.

A personal note about The Good Little Book:

Growing up, I spent every summer in Japan. July was monsoon season and I remember the rushing sound of rain cascading down the brass rain chain. Rainy days were for writing letters to my friends back home in Canada. Rainy days were also for reading.
Those muggy summer days spent in my grandmother’s house, sparked a love of reading. Through books, I journeyed. I went to the English and Welsh countryside with the Famous Five and to New York with Claudia and Jamie Kincaid. I time-traveled and shape-shifted. I lived in the Jurassic past and the atomic future. I lived in Macondo and the Republic of San Lorenzo. I lived as a prairie girl and a French detective. I lived in dire Dickensian poverty and great majestic wealth.

When I ran out, I went downtown and bought Japanese novels in translation. Soseki. Tanizaki. Oe. My books formed a nest around me on the tatami mat, right near my aunt’s Buddhist altar. A waft of sandalwood as the incense sticks burned.

I think, if asked, most devoted readers would be able to pinpoint the ‘spark book’ that ignited their love of reading.

I wanted to write a book about that spark, that electric first love. We may not all be bookish, but I like to think that there is at least one book for everyone—a book to be read endlessly, a book loaded with early versions of ourselves, a book we may never fully finish. Maybe it’s a book about a surreal baker’s kitchen or the story of a boy who peed on a war or a book that other people snubbed or overlooked but it’s ours, our good little book.


Marion Arbona Illustrator Biography

After obtaining a diploma in animation film at Les arts Décoratifs de Paris, Marion Arbona started working as an illustrator for children’s books. When she is not drawing, she is particularly interested in deep sea fishes, cats (even though she is allergic) and weird plants. She also likes reading and watching movies. Her favorite gouache color is light cadmium red. Marion was awarded several illustration prizes in the USA and in Canada where she lived for 10 years. She returned to live in Paris in 2015.