Ever had one of those days where your favorite pen, your lucky hoodie, or that specific notebook you always use just... vanishes? It’s frustrating. Now, imagine you’re a toddler or a young kid whose world revolves around those objects. That’s the emotional core of Who Took My Stuff Agnes Lee, a picture book that somehow went from a quiet self-published project to a global viral sensation.
Honestly, the story behind the book is just as compelling as the one inside the pages.
Agnes Lee, a 23-year-old author from Riverside County, California, wasn't originally planning on being a full-time children's author. She was actually prepping for law school. But she took a huge gamble. She paused the LSAT prep to follow a gut feeling about storytelling. In late 2024, she sat in a bookstore in Corona, California, for her first big signing.
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Nobody showed up.
It was a total gut-punch. She’d dressed up, she was ready, and she just sat there for hours with her books and her thoughts. Then, a bookstore employee posted a TikTok of the empty table. Within days, that video hit 14 million views. People weren't just sad for her; they were curious. They started buying the book. They started reading it. And then they realized it was actually good.
What Is Who Took My Stuff Actually About?
At its simplest, the book is about a "paper bag girl" (or a brother in the alternate edition) who has a very specific, comfortable routine. Everything is in its place until it isn't. One by one, her things start disappearing.
The book is written at a preschool level—we’re talking one or two sentences per page. But the nuance is in the illustrations and the "why."
When the protagonist finally tracks down the "thief," she finds her baby sibling. The little one isn't trying to be a jerk or cause trouble. They’re taking the stuff because they want to be exactly like their big sister. They admire her. In their little toddler brain, having her things means being like her.
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Why It Hits Different for Adults
Even though it’s for 3-to-7-year-olds, adults are the ones buying it in droves. Agnes Lee has compared it to The Giving Tree—a book that feels like a simple story when you're six, but makes you sob when you're thirty. It taps into:
- Sibling Dynamics: The shift from being annoyed by a younger sibling to realizing they look up to you.
- The Weight of Belongings: How we use objects to define our identity and routine.
- Empathy: Understanding that someone else's "bad" behavior might actually be a clumsy expression of love.
The Different Editions of Who Took My Stuff Agnes Lee
One thing that makes this project unique is how Agnes Lee tailored it to different families. She didn't just release one version. Depending on which version you find, the "thief" and the protagonist change to reflect different sibling relationships.
- Who Took My Stuff: Brothers Edition – Focused on the bond between brothers.
- Who Took My Stuff: Sisters Edition – Dedicated to her own sisters and their shared experiences.
The book is relatively short—about 68 pages—but it uses a lot of "white space." If you've ever seen Agnes Lee's other work, like her graphic novel 49 Days, you know she’s a master of the "less is more" approach. She lets the drawings do the heavy lifting.
From Law School Hopeful to Viral Author
The timeline here is pretty wild. Agnes Lee moved from the Bay Area to New York, worked as an art director at The New York Times (where she illustrated the famous Metropolitan Diary), and eventually moved back to California.
She self-published through her brand, Booked With Honey. Before the TikTok video, her follower count was in the double digits. Three days later? Over 30,000 people were following her journey. She went from being embarrassed that her family and friends didn't show up to the signing (they were at church!) to having the internet essentially become her marketing team.
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It’s a classic "overnight success" that was actually years in the making. She’s been drawing since she was a kid, obsessed with The Lion King and Sailor Moon. You can see that animation influence in the way the characters move on the page in Who Took My Stuff.
Why This Matters in 2026
We’re living in an era where everyone is trying to "hack" the algorithm. Agnes Lee didn't hack anything. She wrote a vulnerable, simple story and had a very human, very embarrassing moment caught on camera.
The reason Who Took My Stuff Agnes Lee continues to rank and resonate is because it’s authentic. It doesn't feel like a corporate product. It feels like a sister writing a love letter to her siblings.
Actionable Insights for Readers and Creators
If you're a parent or someone interested in the self-publishing world, there are a few real takeaways from the Agnes Lee story:
- Simplicity Wins: You don't need complex plots to hit a deep emotional chord. Focus on one universal feeling—like the frustration of losing something—and resolve it with kindness.
- The Power of Resilience: Lee admitted she was "appalled" when she first saw the video of her empty signing. But instead of hiding, she leaned into the support and used the momentum to reignite her passion.
- Niche Down: By creating "Brother" and "Sister" editions, she made the book feel personalized for specific families, which is a brilliant move for self-published authors.
If you’re looking to pick up a copy, you can usually find it through her official site or major retailers like ThriftBooks and Amazon. Just keep in mind that because of the viral nature of the book, it occasionally goes out of stock as she keeps up with the demand of being an independent creator.
To get the most out of the book with your kids, try asking them who they think the "thief" is before you reach the end. It’s a great way to start a conversation about why people do the things they do—and how sometimes, the person "bugging" us is just the person who loves us the most.