First published in 1971, The King of Circles is a free-spirited and imaginative collaboration between poet Shuntaro Tanikawa and graphic designer Kiyoshi Awazu. They take the reader into a colorful world where round objects compete for the title of "King of Circles."

Betsy Bird from a Fuse 8 list of Unconventional Children's Books: "This is what you get when you decide to combine a poet with a graphic designer, my friends. And I will confess that often when I hear the term “graphic designer” anywhere near a picture book, I want to go hide my head in a hole for a while... But should I be the kind of person who paints an entire occupation with so broad a brush? There are some marvelously creative graphically designed picture books out there and as luck would have it, this 1971 Japanese import is one of them. For one thing, it’s just a legitimately good story. Different round things proclaim themselves to be perfect circles, or capable of creating perfect circles, and they must therefore be the KING of circles, doggone it. Does Pi make an appearance? It sure as heck does, as does mention of the Japanese flag. It all comes to a head when the Earth declares that while it is a circle, it is fully aware of even larger circles in the universe and could never declare itself king. But what really kicks this book up a notch is the fact that in the back the book it instructs kids to draw their own circles. It reads: “Let’s draw a circle—it’s ok if it’s a little bumpy. Let’s draw a circle—it’s ok if it’s a little crooked. Let’s draw a circle—on a white sheet of paper, with all your might—draw your very own circle.” And as anyone who has ever tried to freehand a circle will tell you, this simple instruction, saying that it’s okay if your circle is bumpy or crooked, is incredibly important. Like I say. A legit great book."

Writing about A Tiger in the Land of Dreams and The King of Circles, the legendary bookseller Japanese Avant-Garde Books said: "These are likely the coolest two children's books published in Japan. It's truly delightful to see these cool Japanese books being translated and enjoyed in languages other than Japanese."