On two occasions Kobayashi contributed drawings to publications. In 1991 he wrote and illustrated Maria Mazaretti Loves Spaghetti (Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y.). The book consists of two short stories, both of them based on the habits of his neighbor across the street, Mary Albanese. Writing in Newsday, a reviewer said "Kobayashi's full-page illustrations here are ebullient and his text has that special kind of simple, gentle humor that signifies a classic." He also made illustrations for a book written by a second grade student at Mariners Elementary School in Newport Beach, California and produced in a self-publishing house by her father: Annie and the Magic Book by Grace Vaughan (27 pages, AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, 2012).
