Pilot and Gakken co-create a children's manga about pens: not for sale, donated to schools and libraries in Japan, and free to read online

What the book is, and why Pilot made it

The Manga de Yoku Wakaru series (roughly, "easy to understand through manga") is a line of books for elementary school children that launched in 1972. Each title explains a question or subject children want to learn about through manga and short columns, and the series is also used in classrooms. Pilot says it made the book because children now have fewer chances to write by hand, as schools adopt digital devices and ways of learning become more diverse. Its stated aim is to show children how much depth there is to writing instruments and how enjoyable writing can be. In short, this is a corporate-sponsored educational manga in which a writing instrument maker explains its own field to young readers.

The story and the chapters

The two main characters are Tomo, a fifth grader who loves writing with pens, and Atsushi, who relies so heavily on digital devices that pens have fallen out of use. Guided by pen spirits called Spirits, which are modeled on Pilot products, the two set off into a mysterious "world of pens." The table of contents published in the official announcement is below (the English translations are ours), and an epilogue follows the final chapter.

Prologue: Welcome to the Land of Pens♪

Chapter 1: The Fountain Pen Was the First Portable Pen!

Chapter 2: The Ever-Evolving Mechanical Pencil

Chapter 3: An Idol Appears! The Ballpoint Pen Spreads Around the World

Chapter 4: The Spirits Come Too! A Ballpoint Pen Factory Tour!

Chapter 5: Big Announcement! The World That Writing Opens Up

According to the announcement, the Spirits explain the birth of the fountain pen, the evolution of the mechanical pencil (often called a "sharp pencil" in Japan) and how a ballpoint pen works. In Chapter 4, the characters tour a ballpoint pen factory and follow the manufacturing processes behind tiny pen tips and a range of inks. The book also touches on the positive effects of handwriting on the brain and on the thinking that makers put into their pens. From this outline, the book appears designed to trace all three instruments from history to manufacturing in a single volume. Our editors have not read the book itself, so we are not judging how deeply each chapter goes.

Where can you read it?

According to the announcement, copies are to be donated through Gakken from mid-September to about 20,000 elementary schools and about 4,000 public libraries, children's centers and similar facilities across Japan. Children's centers, called jidokan in Japanese, are public facilities where children can play and join activities. The announcement describes the donations as planned, and as of our check on October 21, 2026, the official page does not say how far they have progressed. In Japan, searching your local library's catalog is the surest way to find a copy. According to Pilot's announcement, the online edition is free to read on Gakken's website (URL in the sources below). We did not open that page ourselves, so we have not confirmed how to view the online edition or whether it can be read from outside Japan.

Can you buy it?

No. The official page states plainly that the book is not for sale and will not be sold in bookstores or elsewhere, and no price has been set. Because a free online edition is offered, there is no need to spend money to read it.

Book details

Title: Pen no Himitsu (『ペンのひみつ』), Gakken Manga de Yoku Wakaru series No. 239

Production: Joint production by Pilot Corporation and Gakken

Announced: September 14, 2026

Sales: Not for sale (no general sale in bookstores or elsewhere)

Donated to: Elementary schools, public libraries and children's centers across Japan

Online: Free to read on Gakken's website

Editors' view

For families in Japan with elementary school children, we suggest looking first in the school library or the local public library, and opening the online edition if you cannot find a copy. For children who rarely pick up a pencil or pen now that so much learning happens on tablets, it is an easy way to spark interest in writing tools themselves. Teachers and librarians should check whether the donated copy has arrived; it is worth working into lessons that deal with handwriting or into reading-week displays. For adult stationery fans, it shows how Pilot tells the story of the three writing instruments and in what order; Chapter 4, the factory tour, is the part we especially recommend. Since we have not confirmed how deep the content goes, treat it as a manufacturer's perspective rather than a technical reference.

Sources and references

https://www.pilot.co.jp/press_release/2026/09/14/content_20.html

https://gk-himitsu.gakken.jp/385/3ff94611b9494c2aa72d575db2fff038