Book Launch at Readings Kids

Below is my thank you speech for our amazing book launch at Readings Kids Carlton on August 2nd 2025.

A question I’ve been asked a lot in the lead-up to this day is, “How long did it take to make this book?”

And the honest answer is… 37 years.
Thirty-seven years ago, I was about eight years old. I was an only child, no cousins my age, no neighbourhood friends and it was the 80s, so no internet. What did I do with all that time? I read books and drew pictures. And of course, I wrote and illustrated my own stories, right down to drawing a barcode on the back cover of every “published” title.

If you’d asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would’ve said, without hesitation, an author.

Then when I was 15, something life-changing happened. My sister Claudia was born. This was around the time that I remember Dad telling me that being an author or an artist wasn’t going to pay the bills and I should shift my goals to something more financially secure. So I did – I’d now set my sights on marrying Michael Jackson.

(As you may have guessed, that particular goal didn’t quite work out.)

But that quiet little flame, the dream of becoming an author, kept flickering in the background.

Even as a child, Claudia’s path was pretty clear. She was never far from a set of coloured pencils. So this story, in a way, quietly waited. It waited for her to grow up and join me – so we could tell it together.

Claudia’s gentle, exquisite little drawings of our Nonna and Nonno slowly grew into something bigger. Something we wanted to share with the world. Because we realised – we’re not the only ones with memories like these. So many people carry them. Quiet and sometimes loud, warm memories of grandparents, rituals, gardens, family tables.

And it’s so fitting that today we’re celebrating My Nonno Loves here in Carlton, just a few minutes down the street from where it all began. When my Nonno and Nonna first arrived in Australia, they settled in North Fitzroy with just a suitcase or two and dreams for a better life. The irony is, their grandchildren now would do just about anything to live in Italy! But their courage, sacrifice and hope is the reason Claudia and I are sitting here today.

Our Nonno, Giuseppe, would have loved this moment. He had a real flair for being the centre of attention- so the idea of a whole book (and a launch!) in his honour would have been his dream come true. He was always the first to clink a glass and make a speech. He carried a tiny comb in his pocket just in case someone pulled out a camera.

He would’ve LOVED this book. Not just because it’s about him but because it captures all the little things he did that meant so much to him:

Sipping his coffee. Saving vegetable seeds. Singing the same songs. Telling the same jokes, over and over.

That, I think, is what this book is really about. It’s about those small, everyday things that become the way we love each other. The noisy meals. The inside jokes. Sitting together, saying nothing, but somehow still sharing everything.

And deep down, we all know, when we’re gone, these things are how we will be remembered and nothing else.

Already, we’ve had such lovely messages. People have said things like, “This story reminds me of my Nonno,” or “I didn’t have a Nonno, but my granddad did all these things too.”

That’s what makes me proud. Not just that this is my family’s story, but that it feels like it could belong to anyone.

I want to say an enormous thank you to the team at Hardie Grant Kids – especially Pooja and Luna – thank you for holding our hands through every wobble. You saw the heart in our story from the start and helped us bring it to life with care, honesty, and so much patience. We’ll never forget it.

To the wonderful team at Readings Kids, thank you for supporting this book and giving it the most beautiful window to sit in.

To my friends and family – thank you for always believing in my little ideas. You were there when this story was nothing more than scribbles and random sentences, and you cheered me on every step of the way.

To Jin: thank you for bloody everything. With you everything seems possible. I love you inside out.

To Ivy and Maro: this book is for you, so you will always know who your great nonno was and carry his stories in your hearts forever.

To Claud: thank you for being born. This story is stitched with your love, your talent, and the kind of heart only a little sister has. I couldn’t have done this without you.

And finally, to Nonna and Nonno, for planting all the seeds, and for nurturing them with so much love.

We hope that through this story, our future generations will feel your love as much as we have.

Thank you everyone for celebrating with us today.