Guerilla literature 

Warning: The mysterious author of a very cute children’s book may soon be infiltrating your neighborhood. The Biggest Adventure in the Littlest World, a work of fiction by one M.K. Fowler, has been turning up in public places—neatly wrapped, smartly designed, and bearing the label “this is a free book.” The writer’s motivation for freely distributing his or her hard work to unsuspecting strangers is unclear, though readers will find his or her P.O. Box address inside, and the polite request that they share their thoughts. The book also includes several library cards, in which readers are encouraged to jot their names. Once through, readers are also asked to hide the book anew—in a public place—for the next unwitting discoverer.

• PHOTO BY ASHLEY SCHWELLENBACH
• MYSTERY PACKAGE : The Biggest Adventure in the Littlest World, a children’s book by one M.K. Fowler, has been turning up in public places—like this stack of New Times—bearing the charming label “this is a free book.”

Intended for ages 9 and up, The Biggest Adventure, the book’s synopsis reads, takes place in “a secret place at once magical and ominous, hidden within an ancient snow globe.”

It includes “[t]wo determined girls on the trail of a missing boy. And the wise dog serving as guide and protector, who may not always have been a dog. In a desperate bid to keep their newfound world from disappearing, the three young people find themselves in the battle of their lives against a diabolical adversary.”

M. K. Fowler also has a blog, mkfowler.tumblr.com, where excerpts from the book are available. He or she is also selling the self-published work on Amazon for $9.50 (paperback) or $2.99 (Kindle or e-Book).

But if you find the book in a tree, tucked into a stack of newspapers, or lying on an empty table in a coffee shop, it’s yours. Just remember to pass it on. ∆