Edizioni Piemme

“Each of us must ask himself if there are horizons in his life. Are there horizons? Many times, it happens that people cannot see them. And they feel a little bad because they do not observe, do not know how to look and search for those horizons. Observing the horizons of life, in this way, means looking at hope.”

Pope Francis

“Pope Francis really makes you feel like a person. He’s the Pope, of course. At the beginning there is a sense of expectation, the same as I felt as a child, the first time I met one of St. Peter’s successors. But then, without you even realising it, he makes you feel like an equal, with the understanding and authenticity of a man who loves you, and that’s all: he simply loves you, just as you are.”

Davide Banzato

If you suddenly had an unexpected opportunity to spend some time face to face with the Pope, what would you ask him?

This was the extraordinary experience of Davide Banzato, described in the pages of this book. In the Vatican for his television programme I viaggi del cuore, Father Davide never thought he would get a unique opportunity to chat with the Pope and ask him the questions that he, like many of us, had been wondering about. The result is a sincere, spontaneous dialogue, but also an enlightening reflection between a priest who has not been afraid to take risks, with a life full of light and shadows, and a Pope of great wisdom and, above all, unbounded humanity. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the papal ministry of Pope Francis, the Holy Father answered ten questions, in a discussion addressing existential and highly relevant issues: from solitude to indifference, from the crisis in faith to peace of the heart, from fear to poverty. All enriched with personal anecdotes and reflections on the times we live in, on the Pope’s documents and speeches, on burning issues such as abuse, war and economic crisis, in a discussion that speaks to everyone. Thus the Pope’s words take us on a true “voyage of the heart”: an intense walk, with obstacles and dark places of its own, but capable of showing us that it is always possible for each of us to cast the anchor of hope in the midst of the storm, to open a window and look out at the horizon of a more serene future.

Pope Francis

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires in 1936, became the 266th Pope of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. He chose the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, “a man of poverty, a man of peace”. Piemme also published his books Il nome di Dio è Misericordia. Una conversazione con Andrea Tornielli (2016, translated into 100 languages, published in English under the title The Name of God is Mercy), Dio è giovane (2018, published in English as God is Young), Ritorniamo a sognare (2020, published in English as Let us Dream) and Vi chiedo in nome di Dio (2022). And in the Battello a Vapore series: Laudato si’. L’enciclica raccontata ai ragazzi, Le più belle storie del Vangelo and A come Amore, B come Bambino.

Davide Banzato

Born in Padua in 1981, Father Banzato works with disadvantaged youth in Nuovi Orizzonti, the community founded by Chiara Amirante. He writes for a number of newspapers, presents the television programme I viaggi del cuore for broadcaster Mediaset, and has appeared in a series commenting on the gospels on Rai1 as well as a number of radio broadcasts. Piemme published his bestseller Tutto ma prete mai (2021).

Survey on children and reading

The results of a survey organised by Edizioni Piemme – Il Battello a Vapore for their 30th anniversary together with BVA Doxa Kids were presented during the Salone del Libro bookfair in Turin. The survey, designed to identify engagement factors that can trigger a love of reading among young people, involved 500 children aged between 8 and 11 who had read at least 3 books in the last year, and their parents (an equal number of mothers and fathers), and produced interesting findings on the development of a passion for books among boys and girls.

The basic points to emerge were as follows:

● If children develop good independent reading skills by the age of 7, reading may become a pleasant free-time activity for boys and girls. 66% of the youngsters in the survey said they greatly enjoyed reading. Reading does not seem to be a ‘duty’, it is
not described as such, but as something that piques curiosity (57%), stimulates the imagination (54%), and is associated with adventure (47%) and discovery (46%).

● The ‘right’ book is what leads to a love of reading, a book that the youngster particularly enjoyed is the trigger (36%). Equally important is the role played by the family in suggesting or giving books as gifts (34%). A more limited but nevertheless crucial role is played in this by teachers (24%). For half of the youngsters, that ‘first enthralling book’ was the spur that led them to read other books (47%).

● Yesterday’s keen readers are the parents of today’s keen readers: more than half of the parents in the survey read frequently and 46% said reading was a hobby. Many similarities between past and present emerged in the experiences of parents and their children.

● The choice of books for children is shared and negotiated with parents: 1 out of 3 said they chose books themselves, while 2 out of 3 said sometimes they chose, sometimes their parents chose. Books can be a topic of conversation with friends: 62% said sometimes and 1 out of 3 said often.

● Introducing kids to reading is due to a large extent to the oversight of parents: 61% read books with their children when they were small, 57% bought books they thought they would like, 55% talked about the books they were reading and 51% about the
love of reading in general. Mothers are more strongly engaged in all reading activities (average involvement mothers 71%, fathers 29%), with suggestions, actual purchases and conversations about books read or suggested.

● The importance of the role played by parents is strengthened by the fact that they themselves recognise the objective benefits of reading: the most important include building vocabulary (63%) and development of language skills (55%), both mentioned by mothers. In addition the development of the imagination and creativity (62%), which is particularly strong among parents with daughters (66%). Values that reading should convey include curiosity (48%) and respect (43%).

● What do the youngsters expect from a book? First, that it lets them use their imagination and go off into imaginary worlds (56%), a stronger trait among girls. It could also help them ‘learn new things’ (47%), cited more frequently by boys, and so
identify themselves with the characters (46%). Parents too express the same perception in recalling their approach to reading during their childhood, but a sense of greater engagement emerges from their memories.

● The parents’ development from children to adult readers reflects the importance of stimulating and cultivating a love of reading in small children. Perceptions change in part among adults, when reading becomes an opportunity to relax (58%) rather than a source of curiosity (48%), a desire for discovery (48%) and a pastime (46%), although love of reading is confirmed!

The great classics are back in the bookstores and the Battello a Vapore award has reached its 20th edition

To celebrate the anniversary, the collection pays tribute to some of the books that “sparked the interest” of readers in the past, which are returning to bookstores, as from May, with new graphics to appeal to present-day readers: from the delicate touch of Pinin Carpi and his famous Cion Cion Blu, loved by every generation of children, to the timeless humour of Simone Frasca, whose Bruno lo Zozzo teaches the value of friendship; from dreams about sport and growing up in Luigi Garlando’s Da grande farò il calciatore, whose successful series Gol! and Champions are also in the Battello a Vapore catalogue, to a story of bravery in defence of the weak told in La banda della III C by the great Lia Levi, an outstanding author who also produced non-fiction historical works for youngsters; from the exciting L’ultimo lupo by the late Mino Milani, who offers a profound reflection on growing up with the lightest of touches, to the unforgettable Inkiostrik, the monster every child would like to be their school-friend, created by the inventive mind of Ursel Scheffler. This year, we are also celebrating the 20th edition of the Battello a Vapore Award, which over the years has discovered many of Italy’s most popular children’s authors and continues to do so today: Pierdomenico Baccalario, Gigliola Alvisi, Daniela Palumbo, Roberto Bratti, Roberto Morgese, Luigi Garlando, up to the winner of the 2021 award, Emilia Cinzia Perri.

A brand based on timeless stories published over the last thirty years, many of which are still fond memories for yesterday’s readers while many others will appeal to the children of the present: because good books do not age.