First published in the United States of America in 2014 by Chronicle Books LLC.
Originally published in Japan in 2005 under the title Tabi’s General Store.

Text and interior illustrations copyright © 2005 by Junzo Terada.
Cover illustration copyright © 2014 by Junzo Terada.
Translation copyright © 2014 Chronicle Books LLC.
Performance copyright ℗ 2014 by Chronicle Books.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Terada, Junzo, 1961 – author, illustrator.
[Tabi no zakkaya. English]
A good home for Max / Junzo Terada.
pages cm
Summary: Tabi, the little mouse who lives in the general store
and cares for the toys, wants his friend Max, the blue dog, to find a good home.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2702-6 (HC)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3703-2 (epub 3)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3701-8 (epub 2)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3704-9 (epib)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3702-5 (mobi)

1. Terada, Junzo, 1961—Translations into English. 2. Mice—Juvenile fiction.
3. Soft toys—Juvenile fiction. 4. Friendship—Juvenile fiction. 5. Stores, Retail—Juvenile fiction.
[1. Mice—Fiction. 2. Toys—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Stores, Retail—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.T2659Go 2014
[E]—dc23
2013044355

North American type design by Kristine Brogno.
Typeset in Century.

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San Francisco, California 94107

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In a little shop in a little town, lives a little mouse named Tabi.

During the day, Tabi sleeps snuggled deep in a cubbyhole.

But when the lights dim, and the door clicks shut for the night, Tabi wakes and goes to work.

Tabi scrubs and sweeps his little shop. He tidies until everything is right where it belongs.

Tabi puts out the newly arrived candies. Where there was licorice yesterday, now there are chocolates!

Tabi makes a sign for the toys so customers know right where to find them.

He can’t help but admire them all. There are cars and rockets, trains and balls, guitars and horns . . .

Tabi’s friends are his favorite part of the store: Barnaby the Elephant, Gemma the Giraffe, Clarence the Bear . . .

Where is Max the Dog? Has he found a new home already? No, he is just tucked behind Flipper and Puffer, the penguin twins.

New friends arrive every day to replace the ones given new homes by customers.

Barnaby, Gemma, Clarence, and Flipper and Puffer all find good homes, homes with a child to play with and a family to love.

But Max, the serious blue dog with the red collar, is always left behind.

Tabi decides to help Max find a good home.

Tabi decorates Max with an inner tube in summer, because he’d be a good dog to play with at the beach . . .

and a festive hat in winter, because he would be a good dog to play with in the snow.

Tabi tries every trick he knows, but everything in the store seems to change, except Max.

Max is always by his side.

To cheer him up, Tabi gives Max a red cap like his own. Now the two friends match! Max looks so handsome, Tabi is sure someone will take him home soon.

But days and nights pass, and Max is still right there by his side.

One night as Tabi begins scrubbing the floor of his little shop, he notices something is different.

“Where are you, Max?”

Tabi asks Regal the Lion and Zoe the Rhino if they’ve seen Max, but no one has seen him.

It isn’t like Max to hide. . . . Could he have gotten lost?

Where could Max have gone?

Tabi must find his best friend.

He waits until morning, then sneaks into a box that is ready for delivery. Maybe Tabi can spot Max as the little shop’s delivery truck drives along its route.

Driving round and round, Tabi passes Mrs. Parker’s restaurant, Mr. Diaz’s hotel, and the busy school where children are playing.

They drive up and down every street in town, but Tabi can’t find Max anywhere.

As the sun sets, the delivery truck returns to the little shop. “Where are you, Max?”

As the town settles in for the evening, lights up and down the street flash on.

“Max!”

Tabi’s friend smiles down at him from the window across the street. Max doesn’t look so serious anymore. In fact, he looks like he’s home.

Right where he belongs.

Every night, when Tabi is done straightening the shop, he visits Max across the street.

They’re still best friends.

Junzo Terada

is a celebrated designer, illustrator, and fine artist, with numerous solo exhibitions throughout Japan. He owns a design studio in Osaka, Japan and has published a wide variety of stationery and formats with Chronicle Books, including Animals Around the World Journal, Magical Menagerie, and Happy Animal Time postcards, among many others.

Learn more at
www.comes-graphic.jp