Book Recs Based on Studio Ghibli Movies

[All DVD covers from Studio Ghibli films]

I love Studio Ghibli. When Howl’s Moving Castle came to theaters, I must’ve taken the hour and a half drive four—maybe five?—times to the only theater playing it in my region. I loved the colors, and the characters, and the story (even though it was miles different from the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, which I love equally as much and re-read every year). The Cat Returns is my pick-me-up whenever I feel sad, and Porco Rosso is the hilarious and heartfelt comfort on rainy days.

My other comfort, my love, my obsession—is books.

So I thought, why not try to pair the two together like a nice cheese and some red wine?

Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind – The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Castle in the Sky — Sabriel by Garth Nix

Spirited Away – Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Howl’s Moving Castle – Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Cat Returns – Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki or A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde.

Whisper of the Heart – Whisper of the Heart by Aoi Hiiragi or Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My Neighbor Totoro – Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Princess Mononoke – The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Shout out to @ashposton on Twitter and let me know which books you’d pair with a Ghibli movie!