2025 is a truly special year—no, a Squeaktastic one! This year, our publishing house, Piemme, is celebrating 25 years of incredible success with none other than Geronimo Stilton.

Created by Elisabetta Dami, the beloved mouse journalist has become a global phenomenon, capturing the hearts of millions of young readers with his funny, clever, and exciting adventures. An Italian success story, Geronimo Stilton has been translated into 52 languages and has sold over 187 million copies worldwide! In Italy alone, a Geronimo Stilton book is sold every minute! 

But What’s His Secret? Without a doubt, Geronimo Stilton’s magic lies in his universal language, one that speaks to fundamental values like friendship, empathy, kindness, respect for others and the world around us, and loyalty. But that’s not all! His adventures take readers across time and space, from ancient worlds to realms of pure imagination, always alongside a group of unforgettable characters from his hometown of New Mouse City. Over the years, young readers have grown to love and cherish them, including his sister Thea (also the author of many bestselling books, most of which star the beloved Thea Sisters), his cousin Trap, his nephew Benjamin, and his niece Trappy. And let’s not forget his friends, like Ficcanaso Squitt, Rebella Strong and Ficcagenio Squitt! Surrounding Geronimo is a true community of friends and family.

“For 25 years, we’ve shared the same passion, the same excitement, and the same joy in bringing the love of reading and imagination to our young readers,” says Elisabetta Dami. “Kids see me as the ‘Mum of Geronimo Stilton’—and even today, that touches my heart just as much as it did the first time. I see it as a sign of deep affection and trust, which inspires me to keep going with the same love… for the next 25 years!”. “But what’s our secret? Caring deeply about our young readers, listening to them, and sharing fundamental, universal values, helping guide them as they grow, in Italy and around the world,” Dami concludes.

Geronimo Stilton and his friends have explored countless topics in their adventures, but one is particularly close to his heart—because it’s more than just a theme; it’s a fundamental right that everyone should strive to protect, especially for children: happiness.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, the famous mouse journalist has decided to make happiness the central theme of all activities in 2025. With the support of bookstores, fairs, festivals, schools, and many dedicated local partners, Geronimo will spread his message of happiness across Italy, from south to north, through a series of special events that explore this precious theme in all its many forms. Children will have the chance to meet Geronimo Stilton in person—fur and whiskers included—hear him tell his adventures firsthand and even shake his paw! And thanks to the new initiative “Tell Geronimo!”, young readers will become the true stars of these events. Geronimo’s goal is to collect thoughts of happiness, hopes, and the little (and big) joys of everyday life from all the kids who take part. If they wish, they can leave a message, a note, or even a letter—”Tell Geronimo!” will be a way to listen and share, two values that brighten Stilton’s world.

Starting in Messina, on the 19^th of February Geronimo will meet with five local schools, the famous mouse journalist will set off on a happiness-filled journey across Italy. His squeaktastic tour will take him to Rome and Lazio, Calabria, Puglia, Tuscany, and Piedmont—just to name a few stops—where he will meet thousands of children and share songs, reflections, important messages, readings, emotions, and fascinating insights related to his books and those of his sister, Thea Stilton.

This year, once again, Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton will stand out in the Italian (and international) publishing scene with fun and captivating stories that are not only entertaining but also full of educational value—guiding young readers on a journey of discovery, both through the world around them and through exciting imaginary realms.

Some of the most exciting new releases in the first half of the year include My Day with Lucy (in bookstores on February 25^th), a time-traveling adventure with Geronimo alongside the Australopithecus Lucy; Captain Lupita, a brand-new series by Thea Stilton featuring an all-female pirate adventure; Time Travel: Great Inventions, a journey through history to discover the inventions that have improved humanity’s way of life; and a special book dedicated entirely to the theme of Happiness, coming in May.

And finally, one last surprise: to celebrate this milestone anniversary, Geronimo Stilton will have a brand-new, special logo accompanying him

Reading is a journey that leads us to discover new worlds, different cultures and, most importantly, ourselves. What better time to indulge in this practice than during the summer?

Why is summer reading so special?

With its long days and more relaxed pace, summer offers the ideal time and attitude for reading. Without the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we can finally indulge in the pleasure of leafing through a book, letting ourselves be captivated by the stories and losing ourselves in the words. Reading during the summer helps us expand our horizons, stimulating our imagination, keeping our minds exercised and reducing stress.

Here are our recommendations for holiday reading

Whatever your destination, we thought we’d offer you a collection of books selected from the most read and appreciated titles of our publishing houses (Battello a vapore, De Agostini, Einaudi, Electa, Mondadori, Mondadori Electa, Mondadori Children’s Books, Piemme, Rizzoli and Sperling & Kupfer, Star Comics and Utet), designed to satisfy readers of all ages.

Today, Alice Cairati takes up the position of Communications and Promotion Manager of the Piemme, Sperling & Kupfer and Electa publishing houses, reporting directly to General Manager Stefano Peccatori.

Born in Milan in 1984, she graduated from the University of Milan with honours in Philosophical Sciences. Cairati began her professional career with the Mondadori Group 13 years ago, at the Mondadori Electa publishing house. After three years of experience in marketing, she shifted to communications and events in 2014, before becoming Communications Manager for the Varia line of Mondadori Electa, Sperling & Kupfer, Piemme in 2019.

The new communications structure entrusted to Alice Cairati was designed to develop integrated communication plans, in which the press office, digital communications and promotion are coordinated strategically and effectively. In this respect, Cetta Leonardi is head of the Radio and TV Press and Promotion Office, Alessandro Ventura is head of the Digital Communications and Promotion Office, while Cairati remains responsible for the Events Office.

The Mondadori Group participates in the celebration of love in all its forms and nuances through some of the most interesting and representative books published by our publishing houses, dealing with themes such as diversity.

In our Group, we strive every day to build a more inclusive world where everyone can feel loved and accepted. So this month, through the power of words, writing and reading, we want to promote stories that speak a universal language: the language of love.

Martina Donati will join the Mondadori Group on September 1, 2023, as part of the team led by Stefano Peccatori, CEO of Sperling & Kupfer, Piemme, Frassinelli, Mondadori Electa, Rizzoli Illustrati, and President & CEO of Rizzoli International Publications New York. Donati will serve as Editorial Director of Italian and international fiction for Sperling & Kupfer, Piemme, Frassinelli and the Pickwick paperback brand.

«I am honoured and happy with this assignment because of the welcome and trust I have received from Mondadori Group management, and particularly Stefano Peccatori. The goal is undoubtedly to make the most of the formidable authors the various brands already have in their catalogue, and to seek out and acquire new talents. The new generation of readers is formed of a target audience of young and very young people, and the publisher is doing its best to intercept them. These are readers who have put books and reading back in the forefront of discussion, thanks to social media. Our task is to continue responding to their tastes and giving them more and more opportunities to explore the stimulating world of quality writing. We will devote our editorial offerings to them, in various areas of fiction, ranging from genre fiction to more literary fiction, particularly through the Frassinelli brand.»

Born in Florence in 1967, Donati holds a law degree from La Sapienza University in Rome and has worked in the world of publishing for more than twenty-five years. After serving as head of the press office and communications for a number of brands, including Fanucci, Arcana and Fazi Editore, where she handled such international successes as Melissa P and Twilight, she has now embraced the profession of editor.

She was Editorial Manager for Giunti, where she founded the YA and adult fiction department and published authors like Simona Sparaco, Sara Rattaro, and Lucinda Riley.

As Editorial Manager at Newton Compton, she has recently worked on scouting and launching Italian and foreign authors such as Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, and Elena Armas, and in conceiving the best-selling Medici series written by Matteo Strukul. She has also been involved in non-fiction and miscellaneous publications, taking a gamble on Mark Manson, author of the highly successful “The subtle art…”

In 2017 she introduced Felicia Kingsley, a very Italian writer who has now become one of the most successful authors on the Italian publishing scene.

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“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).

Thanks to an editorial initiative against food waste, our editor Anna Spinelli has won the 2022 Nudge Global Impact Award. During the gala evening at the Peace Palace in The Hague, in the Netherlands, an international jury listened to the presentations of the six finalist projects at the latest Nudge Global Impact Challenge and decided to give the award to Anna’s work.

The theme of the 2021/2022 edition was Balancing our planet: a clear appeal to the need to respond to the negative events affecting our planet, in primis climate change and the pandemic.

From this starting point, Anna Spinelli developed a manual to educate children aged 6 to 10 about waste in the kitchen, in collaboration with Too Good To Go, the leading app in the fight against food waste.
Besides describing how much food is thrown away around the world and the serious environmental and social effects this has, the book offers much useful advice on ways to achieve a significant reduction in kitchen waste. Recipes include a contribution from Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco.

The project has already been put into practice: “Il manuale antispreco di Too Good To Go”, published by Il Battello a Vapore, has been available in bookstores and online since 31 May.

Anna’s high-quality publishing initiative is also a perfect match with one of the pillars of our sustainability plan which, with regard to the environment, aims to help promote a culture that protects the planet and its eco-systems.

The Nudge Global Impact Challenge is an international personal development program for young professionals, whose purpose is to support the growth of future leaders in environmental, social and economic sustainability who will have a positive impact on the world. The initiative is organised by Nudge, a Dutch organisation that brings young talents, companies and no-profit bodies together to promote sustainability across the board.

Through the Challenge, which began in 2010, every year approximately 90 young professionals from all over the world are given the chance to meet, follow training programs and discuss leadership and sustainable development, and then go on to create and implement their own impact plan. The best plans are recognised with the Nudge Global Impact Awards and receive funding to support their implementation.

The Mondadori Group has been a member of the network of Nudge partner companies for five years. Every year, it selects its own potential sustainability leaders for the Nudge Global Impact Challenge. The initiative is one of a range of activities to foster the development of young talents, as well as Diversity & Inclusion and sustainability. Anna Spinelli is the second nudger from the Mondadori Group to win the Nudge Global Impact Award after Marta Mazza, editor of Mondadori children’s books, who won four years ago with her book “Guerrieri di sogni”.

This year’s winners besides Anna were Sanne Kruid, Peter Akkerman, Sofia Kavlin and Timothy Wabukoti.

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.

In 1991, Italy put the spotlight on the need to respect and look after children when it signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Thirty years later, from 18 May, the volume Dalla parte dei bambini – Il libro sui diritti dell’infanzia e dell’adolescenza, published by Edizioni Piemme-Il Battello a Vapore, in collaboration with UNICEF Italia and the ICWA (the Italian association of children’s writers), is in the bookstores: an illustrated book of twenty stories by well-known Italian children’s writers, inspired by the articles of the Convention.

“For us, the best way to make people aware of the rights laid out in the UN Convention is to write stories, in contemporary settings or a more evocative dimension, about children who are still denied these rights, even in developed western countries like Italy,” observes writer and ICWA President Fulvia Degl’Innocenti in the introduction to the book. “In every story there is hope, because growing numbers of organisations and bodies are fighting to ensure these rights are fully enforced.

UNICEF is the symbol of this, and its collaboration with the ICWA at various levels including this book is a powerful reflection of synergy and shared attention to childhood.” “Il Battello a Vapore has always devoted special attention to issues of fundamental importance for children’s development and education, and taken great care in how they are narrated,” explains Lorenzo Garavaldi, General Manager of the Mondadori Libri Children’s Business Unit.“Dalla parte dei bambini is a special project for us, not only because we have the honour of working together with the ICWA and UNICEF, but also because it gives us the opportunity to tell children about self-respect and respect for others. We are never too young (or too old) to learn to live in a better world and we could not have thought of a better way of celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention than by portraying it through words and pictures.”
“On 27 May we shall be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Italy’s ratification of the Convention, which sets out the rights of every human being from their birth and recognises children not just as minors under the protection of adults, but as people with civil, social, cultural, political and economic rights,” says Carmela Pace, President of UNICEF Italia. “We want to thank the Piemme publishing house, the Italian association of children’s writers and, above all, the authors, who have contributed to this collection of stories, generously giving their time, creativity and skills to ensure that every child who reads this book will be able to identify with it, to find out something about themselves, to look at the world with new eyes and to develop an awareness of their rights.”
Dalla parte dei bambini (pages: 256; price: € 13.00) is a vital tool to learn about people’s rights, foster discussion and develop the awareness that every child should be listened to. The right to a name, to be listened to, to a family, to freedom of expression, thought and religion: every child is born with rights that adults must know, respect and promote. The stories of Omar who is adopted by the family of young Francesco; of Lisa, deaf from birth, who nevertheless manages to communicate with Tommaso; of Min Min, who receives a tin containing all the words she doesn’t know; of Marta who decides to stand up to the bullies to protect her classmate Milan, and many others help us to listen, to understand and to be aware of our rights.

The authors who took part in the project are all members of the ICWA. They are: Fabrizio Altieri, Cristina Bartoli, Stefano Bordiglioni, Patrizia Ceccarelli, Carolina D’Angelo, Emanuela Da Ros, Vichi De Marchi, Fulvia Degl’Innocenti, Giuliana Facchini, Chiara Lossani, Alberto Melis, Roberto Morgese, Daniela Palumbo, Angelo Petrosino, Livia Rocchi, Isabella Salmoirago, Manuela Salvi, Anna Sarfatti, Chiara Valentina Segré, Valentina Torchia. The illustrations are by Silvia Crocicchi.

Even today 120 million children around the world do not receive a basic education, and more than half of them are girls. Without the chance to study it is impossible to imagine a future, without adequate quality education there are no opportunities to build a better and more secure life.

The right to an education is even more at risk in countries like Ethiopia, where almost 30 million people live below the poverty line and 30.4% of children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition. Too many boys and girls (70%) are obliged to leave education after primary school in order to help their families by working in the fields and because of a lack of the right kind of support.

This is why, for Christmas, ActionAid together with Mondadori, Einaudi, Rizzoli, Piemme, Sperling&Kupfer, Mondadori Electa and Fabbri Editori have come together to face an important challenge: to guarantee the right to education for 1,800 boys and girls in the Raya Azebo of Ethiopia, one of the places in the world where the provision of primary education is most urgent, and an area that is frequently without access to drinking water and adequate sanitation.

“Going to school in Ethiopia and being able to complete studies with quality education is a right that is denied to too many children especially girls. To able to work alongside a partner like Mondadori is to receive the kind of fundamental support that will make it possible to realise the dreams of 1,800 children who have neither classrooms, nor books or materials. Thanks to the contribution of the publishing houses of the Group we will be able to build two new schools, provide electricity, drinking water and sanitation, support teacher training and build awareness in the local community of the importance of educating girls, in one of the poorest regions of the country,” declared Marco De Ponte, Secretary General of ActionAid.

The importance of an education worthy of the name – that is equal, inclusive and accessible to everyone – is an absolute priority for the Mondadori Group: indeed, it is part of a profound sense among the people who work in the company that it is a natural and fundamental element of our traditions and history as a company” declared Enrico Selva Coddè, Chief Executive of the Trade Area of Mondadori Books. “This initiative allows our publishing houses to go further and engage in a concrete and inclusive solidarity project that will benefit one of the areas of the world in which the need is most urgent. Being able to work alongside a partner like ActionAid is a guarantee for us of the seriousness of our joint commitment” concluded Enrico Selva Coddè.

The project

Most of the schools in the Raya Azebo district have wooden frames and mud walls. And due to the lack of separate toilet facilities for boys and girls, it is impossible for girls to go to school during their menstrual cycle. Such frequent absence from lessons consequently leads to poor results and even abandoning school altogether.

With the “Insieme per l’istruzione” (Together for Education) project, ActionAid and the publishing houses of the Mondadori Group will create a safe school environment for 1,800 children, half of them girls, in the primary schools of the Barie Woyane and Hawulti communities. During 2020 two school buildings, each with four classrooms, a library and separate toilet facilities for girls, will be completed. Also teaching materials and classroom furniture will be provided, along with support for girls and initiatives to improve school governance, with the increased involvement of the local communities.

The progress of the project in Ethiopia can be followed on the web site: insiemeperlistruzione.it.

With this initiative, ActionAid and the publishing houses of the Mondadori Group are committed to the shared support of the fourth of the Sustainable Objectives set by the United Nations for 2030.

ActionAid for schools

Over the last year we have ensured and improved access to free, safe and quality education for boys and girls in around 5,000 schools in 25 countries. We have also involved over 400,000 parents, teachers and students in activities aimed at preventing and combatting the early abandonment of school.

The Mondadori Group for education

We are a publishing house with over 100 years of history. Thanks to our strong links with authors and readers we are acutely aware of our responsibilities, also to civil society. There is no doubt that the right to quality education and information is an essential prerequisite for the development and growth of a country. Consequently, the active promotion, in Italy and around the world, of a culture that is accessible to all, is a central part of our mission and one of the principles of the Group’s sustainability policy.

What ActionAid does

ActionAid is an independent international organisation operating in Italy and in 44 other countries. It collaborates with more than 10,000 partners, alliances, NGOs and social movements to combat poverty and social injustice. For over 40 years ActionAid has been working alongside the poorest and most marginalised people and communities, supporting them in the knowledge that it is only through collective efforts in support of solidarity and justice that real social change can be generated. A fair and equal world for all: this is the vision that inspires ActionAid and provides its strength. In order to transform this vision of the world into concrete reality, ActionAid has adopted a specific mission for the next 10 years: to work for the promotion and adoption of democratic participation and to involve people and communities in the protection of their rights, and to collaborate, at a local, national and international level, for the realisation of change and the spread of social equality, improving the quality of democracy and consequently supporting those who live in situations of poverty and marginalisation.