A delightful early anime film from 1988 by Hayao Miyazaki, My Neighbor Totoro is the story of a Japanese family (a professor father and his two young daughters) in the 1950s that moves to a house in the country to be close to the mother who is in hospital. The girls befriend some magical creatures, one of which is Totoro. The tale is a gentle one of planting seeds and riding the cat-bus, but is not without tension, as the mother has a relapse. The Art of My Neighbor Totoro is chock full of stills, storyboards and illustrations, along with interviews with production staff and a look at the production process. The book is a wonderful accompaniment to a film that is a favorite to many.

Hardcover, 176 pages. Viz Media LLC, 2005. $19.79 at Amazon.

+ The Art of My Neighbor Totoro