Yotsuba&! is a manga written and drawn by Kiyohiko Azuma, and published in Japan by ASCII Media Works in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh. Eighty-two chapters have been published; 81 of these have been collected in twelve tankōbon volumes, with further chapters appearing in Dengeki Daioh to be collected in tankōbon format over time. The series was licensed in English by ADV Manga, with five volumes published; volume six was scheduled to be published February 2008 but was delayed indefinitely. Yen Press announced at New York Comic Con 2009 that they had acquired the North American license for the English release of the manga; volume six was released in September 2009 along with new translations of the first five volumes, with later volumes to follow. The series has been licensed in France by Kurokawa, in Spain by Norma Editorial, in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, in Italy by Dynit, in Finland by Punainen jättiläinen, in Korea by Daiwon C.I., in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media, in Vietnam by TVM Comics, and in Thailand by NED Comics. Yotsuba&! follows the daily life of a young girl named Yotsuba Koiwai and her adoptive father, with each chapter taking place on a specific, nearly sequential day of a common year starting on Wednesday. The year was initially believed to be 2003, coinciding with the date of the manga's serialization, but Azuma has stated that the manga always takes place in the present day. This allows the appearance of products created after 2003, such as the Nintendo DS Mr. Ayase plays in chapter forty-two. Official story dates through volume five are given by a small artbook, Yotsuba&! Illustrations and Materials, distributed in Japan with volume six and Yotsuba & Monochrome Animals; dates from volume six on are established by evidence within the series, such as statements by characters, and by statements by Azuma. The collected volumes have seven chapters each, spanning about a week in series time. The first five volumes cover a summer vacation period.
While Koiwai works, Yotsuba plays house with her wooden blocks, then talks her father into a game of hide and seek and playing on the swings in the park. Inspired by a picture book, Yotsuba learns how to cook pancakes from her father, with assistance from Yanda. That evening, the Koiwais show Jumbo photographs from the hot air balloon festival. While her father finishes an assignment, Jumbo babysits Yotsuba and gives her a book about animals. The next day, Jumbo takes the Koiwais shopping for a digital camera. While the adults compare cameras, Yotsuba explores the electronics store with Fuuka. When Yotsuba lies about breaking some dishes, Koiwai takes her to a guardian Niō statue at a Buddhist temple to scare the "lying bug" out of her. When Yotsuba and Ena visit Miura's apartment, Yotsuba is upset when she sees her empty cardboard robot costume. To reassure her that the robot is not dead, Miura puts the costume on and plays with her in the park.
Yotsuba goes to an udon shop without her father's knowledge, and is allowed to watch udon being made. After getting a pizza menu in the mail, the Koiwais order a couple, though one turns out to be too much for Yotsuba to hold. After an announcement of an upcoming camping trip, Yanda arrives with various bubble-blowing devices, which they play inside, then outside, with. Yotsuba, Fuuka, and Miss Stake go to a shrine to pick chestnuts, and Yotsuba learns about burr covers and bug infestations. Koiwai gives Yotsuba her own camera, which she uses to go around taking pictures of people. Yotsuba meets Miura at her apartment building, and they go to Ena's. On the way, a dog grabs her teddy bear and shakes it, making it smell like dog, so they wash it and dry it at the Ayases'. As a result, the bear's ability to speak is broken, so Asagi offers to repair it overnight. Yotsuba spends much of the intervening time sulking about Juralumin's absence until Yanda finally gets a reaction out of her. She goes to the Ayases', where she finds Juralumin repaired.
