It was serialized in Shueisha's josei manga magazine Young You from 1987 to 2003, with its chapters collected in 27 tankōbon volumes.

In 1990, Papa Told Me won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category.

Written and illustrated by Nanae Haruno, Papa Told Me started in Shueisha's josei manga magazine Young You in the June 1987 issue.

[4] Additional chapters were later irregularly published in Chorus and Bessatsu Chorus,[1] and four additional volumes: Machi O Arukeba (街を歩けば, "If You Walk the Streets"); Watashi no Sukina Wakusei (私の好きな惑星, "My Favorite Planet"); Kafe de Michikusa (私の好きな惑星, "Cafe Michikusa"); and Mado ni Akari no Tomoru Koro (窓に灯りのともる頃, "When the Window Lights Up"), were released from April 18, 2008, to June 17, 2011.

[14] Papa Told Me won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category in 1990.