Houses with a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore

For fans of Studio Ghibli, artist Seiji Yoshida’s fantastical, award-winning art book is a perfect gift that transports readers to imaginary houses, each with their own story to tell.

A dreamer’s tree house.
A mechanic’s cottage.
A submerged city.

In Houses with a Story, more than 30 imaginative houses and the people who make them home offer unexpected worlds to wander through and explore. Who is the mischievous bridge-tower keeper? What does the witch grow in her garden? How does the postal worker tame his delivery dragons? In each house, readers discover the contents of rooms and closets, what’s at the top of the stairs, and where shadowy hallways lead. Story text provides background and details about the lives of the residents and hints about their past and future.

Featuring lush, full-color illustrations including diagrams, elevations, and sectional drawings, along with detailed descriptions of each character and their pets, the homes’ architecture, design, location, and landscapes open doors to whimsy, wonder, and endless possibilities.

Yoshida Seiji is a Tokyo-based professional background illustrator working in the game/anime industry. In this book, he introduces readers to part of his imagination and how he composes it. Find him on Twitter (@yoshida_seiji) and Instagram (@yoshidaseiji_). Jan Mitsuko Cash is a line editor and Japanese-to-English translator with experience in novels, manga, and STEM books. As a translator, Cash has freelanced for Viz Media, Yen Press, Seven Seas, Mangamo, and other publishers, most notably, working on manga series such as Bleach, Toradora!, Choujin X, and Fullmetal Alchemist: A New Beginning. As an acquisitions and developmental editor at No Starch Press, Cash edited the Manga Guide to Cryptography, Coding iPhone Apps for Kids, and Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python (4th Ed.), in addition to several other STEM textbooks for adults and kids. She lives in Modesto, Californi